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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: net · arm · land · bowl · season · shower · capital · kid

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. capital — a city
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. kid — to tease
  5. season — in sport
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. land — ground
  10. net — for catching
  11. shower — rain
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. land — to come down
  15. shower — to wash
  16. net — in sport
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. kid — child
  19. net — after costs
  20. capital — money
  21. season — of the year
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. land — a country
  24. arm — a part of something

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