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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: band · arm · capital · bowl · chip · fine · file · ground

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. capital — money
  4. ground — crushed
  5. ground — the earth
  6. capital — a city
  7. ground — a position
  8. band — a ring
  9. file — a line of people
  10. file — a document
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. band — a music group
  13. fine — high quality
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. chip — to eat
  16. fine — all right
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. file — a tool
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. chip — for betting
  24. arm — a part of something

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