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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: land · row · net · sharp · cold · cap · firm · racket

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cap — a lid
  4. net — for catching
  5. firm — steady
  6. row — to paddle
  7. land — to come down
  8. cap — of ice
  9. sharp — clever
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. cold — an illness
  12. net — in sport
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. land — a country
  15. net — after costs
  16. firm — a company
  17. cold — not warm
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. row — a line
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. land — ground
  22. firm — decided
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. racket — a loud noise

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