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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
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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: firm · ground · dip · capital · wound · land · file · kick

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. land — ground
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. file — a line of people
  5. ground — the earth
  6. capital — a city
  7. ground — crushed
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. wound — an injury
  10. file — a document
  11. firm — a company
  12. land — a country
  13. land — to come down
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. dip — to sink
  17. firm — steady
  18. wound — an injury
  19. capital — money
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. file — a tool
  23. kick — in football
  24. firm — decided

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