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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: capital · chip · craft · march · rest · file

  1. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. rest — a break
  3. march — the month
  4. capital — money
  5. file — a document
  6. capital — a city
  7. march — the month
  8. chip — to eat
  9. craft — boats
  10. rest — what's left
  11. rest — what's left
  12. march — music
  13. file — a tool
  14. chip — for betting
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. file — a line of people

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