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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: plane · dip · cap · kid · net · bark · ground · band

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. band — a music group
  3. ground — a position
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. net — in sport
  6. bark — to shout
  7. net — after costs
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. cap — a lid
  11. cap — of ice
  12. band — a ring
  13. plane — a tool
  14. net — for catching
  15. kid — to tease
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. ground — crushed
  18. dip — to sink
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. ground — the earth
  23. kid — child
  24. dip — a sauce

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