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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
468
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: cabinet · hand · club · capital · land · bat · pound · wake

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. club — for golf
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. bat — the animal
  8. hand — in cards
  9. capital — a city
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. land — a country
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. club — for dancing
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. hand — help
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. capital — money
  19. wake — a trail
  20. club — a group
  21. pound — a weight
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. land — ground

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