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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.

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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 · hand · capital · bass · lie · dip · cold · plane

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. capital — a city
  3. hand — help
  4. cold — an illness
  5. hand — in cards
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. net — for catching
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. net — after costs
  15. cold — not warm
  16. dip — to sink
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. bass — the fish
  19. lie — to recline
  20. capital — money
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. bass — low music
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. plane — a tool

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