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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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Word bank
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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: lash · nail · capital · land · kid · row · ground · rock

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. land — a country
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. ground — the earth
  5. capital — a city
  6. kid — child
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. row — a line
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. row — to paddle
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. ground — a position
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. kid — to tease
  18. rock — a stone
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. ground — crushed
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. rock — music
  23. land — to come down
  24. land — ground

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