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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: mine · cap · net · bore · roll · rule · cabinet · field

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. field — farmland
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. net — in sport
  6. field — for sport
  7. field — a subject
  8. cap — a lid
  9. net — for catching
  10. rule — a law
  11. roll — a list
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. rule — government
  14. bore — to tire
  15. cap — of ice
  16. cap — a hat
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. bore — to drill
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. roll — a cake
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. mine — for digging

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