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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: net · object · kick · stem · capital · row · rush · ground

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. net — after costs
  3. ground — the earth
  4. stem — to come from
  5. capital — a city
  6. net — for catching
  7. kick — in football
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. ground — crushed
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. object — a thing
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. rush — hurry
  15. row — to paddle
  16. net — in sport
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. object — to protest
  19. object — an aim
  20. ground — a position
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. row — a line
  24. row — a quarrel

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