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

Word bank: tear · cap · land · dip · net · jam

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. cap — a lid
  3. tear — to rip
  4. land — a country
  5. net — after costs
  6. net — in sport
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. land — to come down
  9. tear — from crying
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. net — for catching
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. land — ground
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. cap — a hat
  17. dip — to sink
  18. cap — of ice

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