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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: capital · net · hand · field · bear · lie · cell · squash

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. hand — in cards
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. cell — in biology
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. capital — a city
  8. squash — the sport
  9. net — after costs
  10. field — a subject
  11. cell — a phone
  12. field — for sport
  13. hand — help
  14. capital — money
  15. bear — the animal
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. bear — the animal
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. field — farmland
  20. squash — to crush
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. net — for catching
  24. net — in sport

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