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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: hand · pop · land · capital · nail · kick · dip · root

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. land — to come down
  4. dip — to sink
  5. pop — music
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. capital — a city
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. capital — money
  11. root — the cause
  12. pop — to visit
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. land — a country
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. pop — soda
  17. root — of a plant
  18. hand — help
  19. kick — in football
  20. root — of a word
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. hand — in cards
  23. land — ground
  24. kick — a thrill

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