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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 116 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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. net — after costs
  4. capital — a city
  5. net — in sport
  6. cap — a hat
  7. staff — a stick
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. cap — a lid
  10. cap — of ice
  11. land — to come down
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. capital — money
  15. land — a country
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. staff — employees
  18. staff — employees
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. net — for catching
  24. kick — in football

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