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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: cold · land · kick · staff · roll · bore · cabinet · net

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. land — to come down
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. net — after costs
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. net — in sport
  10. roll — a cake
  11. staff — employees
  12. cold — an illness
  13. land — a country
  14. bore — to drill
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. cold — not warm
  17. land — ground
  18. roll — a list
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. staff — employees
  21. net — for catching
  22. staff — a stick
  23. bore — to tire
  24. roll — on a roll

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