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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: shower · cabinet · pitch · kick · capital · fine · mine · land

  1. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. capital — a city
  3. fine — high quality
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. kick — in football
  9. land — to come down
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. fine — all right
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. pitch — completely
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. shower — rain
  19. mine — for digging
  20. land — ground
  21. capital — money
  22. land — a country
  23. shower — to wash
  24. mine — an explosive

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