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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: deal · rash · cold · net · stand · pound · kick · capital

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. cold — an illness
  4. stand — to bear
  5. net — in sport
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. capital — a city
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. rash — a series
  11. cold — not warm
  12. deal — to handle
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. kick — in football
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. net — after costs
  17. pound — a weight
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. rash — hasty
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. capital — money
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. cold — the Cold War

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