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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: stick · file · cell · net · capital · chip

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. chip — to eat
  3. chip — for betting
  4. file — a line of people
  5. file — a tool
  6. cell — in biology
  7. capital — money
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. net — in sport
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. capital — a city
  13. file — a document
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. net — after costs
  17. net — for catching
  18. stick — a piece of wood

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