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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 116 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: row · cap · deal · mouse · drill · dip · nail · land

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. land — ground
  3. cap — a lid
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. land — to come down
  6. deal — to handle
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. dip — to sink
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. cap — of ice
  13. drill — a practice
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. drill — army training
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. drill — the tool
  19. land — a country
  20. row — to paddle
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. row — a line
  24. deal — an agreement

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