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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: capital · cabinet · key · shower · field · kid · last · land

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. land — a country
  3. shower — rain
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. key — for a lock
  6. key — the most important part
  7. last — finally
  8. field — for sport
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. shower — to wash
  11. field — farmland
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. land — to come down
  14. kid — child
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. field — a subject
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. last — final
  20. land — ground
  21. capital — a city
  22. kid — to tease
  23. last — to go on
  24. key — in music

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