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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: ball · capital · land · dip · net · prune · march · cabinet

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. land — a country
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. land — ground
  5. land — to come down
  6. net — in sport
  7. dip — to sink
  8. prune — to trim
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. march — music
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. prune — to trim
  14. ball — a great time
  15. march — the month
  16. net — for catching
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. march — the month
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. ball — a dance
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. capital — money
  23. capital — a city
  24. prune — the fruit

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