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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 116 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: fan · capital · net · land · can · row · present · cue

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. net — in sport
  3. land — to come down
  4. can — to be able to
  5. capital — money
  6. row — to paddle
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. cue — a signal
  9. present — there
  10. capital — a city
  11. cue — for pool
  12. land — a country
  13. net — after costs
  14. present — the time now
  15. present — a gift
  16. can — a tin
  17. row — a line
  18. land — ground
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. can — a tin
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. net — for catching

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