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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. net — after costs
  3. shower — to wash
  4. cap — a hat
  5. land — a country
  6. land — to come down
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. land — ground
  9. net — for catching
  10. game — wild animals
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. shower — rain
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. cap — of ice
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. cap — a lid
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. game — a match
  24. dip — to sink

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com