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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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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: bank · nail · arm · fork · drill · capital · cell · bat

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. capital — a city
  3. drill — the tool
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. drill — a practice
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. cell — in biology
  12. bank — for money
  13. bank — for money
  14. capital — money
  15. fork — in a road
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. drill — army training
  20. bank — of a river
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bat — for baseball

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