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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 120 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: capital · land · net · lash · bank · mug · dip · degree

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. land — to come down
  3. bank — of a river
  4. net — after costs
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. bank — for money
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. degree — an amount
  9. mug — a face
  10. capital — a city
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. bank — for money
  13. mug — a cup
  14. land — a country
  15. degree — temperature
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. capital — money
  19. degree — from a university
  20. net — in sport
  21. dip — to sink
  22. mug — to rob
  23. net — for catching
  24. lash — an eyelash

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