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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: nail · file · capital · bat · cell · bank

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. cell — in biology
  3. bank — for money
  4. file — a line of people
  5. file — a tool
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. bat — the animal
  9. capital — a city
  10. bank — of a river
  11. capital — money
  12. file — a document
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. cell — a phone
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. bank — for money
  18. bat — in an idiom

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