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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.

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 · bass · bat · field · pound · chip · key · net

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. chip — to eat
  3. capital — a city
  4. net — after costs
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. chip — for betting
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. key — for a lock
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. capital — money
  12. net — for catching
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. bass — the fish
  15. net — in sport
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. pound — a weight
  18. field — farmland
  19. key — in music
  20. bat — the animal
  21. key — the most important part
  22. bass — low music
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. field — a subject

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