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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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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: patient · kid · band · lie · net · capital · arm · chip

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. net — after costs
  4. capital — a city
  5. band — a ring
  6. kid — child
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. lie — to recline
  9. chip — for betting
  10. capital — money
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. net — for catching
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. kid — to tease
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. band — a music group
  23. chip — to eat
  24. capital — a big letter

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