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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: ground · net · lie · last · capital · foot · game · tear

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. last — to go on
  4. net — after costs
  5. game — a match
  6. tear — from crying
  7. foot — a measure
  8. tear — to rip
  9. ground — crushed
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. capital — a city
  12. net — in sport
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. game — wild animals
  15. lie — to recline
  16. ground — the earth
  17. ground — a position
  18. capital — money
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. net — for catching
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. last — finally
  24. tear — from crying

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