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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: chest · mark · lie · land · rock · capital · net · roll

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. chest — of your body
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. net — after costs
  5. capital — a city
  6. mark — a grade
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. chest — of your body
  9. rock — a stone
  10. roll — a cake
  11. land — a country
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. land — ground
  14. mark — a trace
  15. chest — a box
  16. roll — a list
  17. land — to come down
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. lie — to recline
  20. capital — money
  21. rock — music
  22. net — for catching
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. net — in sport

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