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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: net · land · dip · bowl · cold · staff · mine · capital

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. mine — for digging
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. land — to come down
  5. net — in sport
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. capital — money
  9. dip — to sink
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. net — after costs
  12. land — a country
  13. net — for catching
  14. capital — a city
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. staff — employees
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. land — ground
  20. cold — not warm
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. cold — an illness
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. staff — employees

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