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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 · cabinet · roll · shower · field · ground · tube · capital

  1. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. ground — crushed
  4. field — for sport
  5. shower — rain
  6. net — for catching
  7. roll — a cake
  8. ground — the earth
  9. roll — a list
  10. capital — money
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. net — after costs
  13. capital — a city
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. tube — the underground
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. field — farmland
  19. ground — a position
  20. tube — a container
  21. shower — to wash
  22. field — a subject
  23. net — in sport
  24. roll — on a roll

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