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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 120 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: land · clip · net · capital · fan · shower · arm · lie

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. net — for catching
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. land — a country
  7. land — to come down
  8. shower — rain
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. net — after costs
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. land — ground
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. shower — to wash
  17. capital — money
  18. net — in sport
  19. clip — a video
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. lie — to recline
  22. clip — to cut
  23. capital — a city
  24. clip — for paper

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