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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. tear — to rip
  4. net — after costs
  5. land — ground
  6. capital — a city
  7. net — in sport
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. land — a country
  10. board — a committee
  11. tear — from crying
  12. hand — help
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. net — for catching
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. deal — to handle
  18. tear — from crying
  19. hand — in cards
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. board — to get on
  22. capital — money
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. deal — a big deal

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