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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: net · land · wound · staff · cabinet · cold · root · cell

  1. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. net — in sport
  3. land — a country
  4. root — the cause
  5. wound — an injury
  6. cell — in biology
  7. staff — employees
  8. cell — a phone
  9. land — to come down
  10. cold — not warm
  11. staff — employees
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. net — after costs
  14. staff — a stick
  15. net — for catching
  16. cold — an illness
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. root — of a plant
  19. land — ground
  20. wound — an injury
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. root — of a word
  24. cold — the Cold War

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