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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: wound · nail · capital · chair · chest · bat · tube · net

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. chest — a box
  3. chair — a leader
  4. capital — money
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. capital — a city
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. wound — an injury
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. chest — of your body
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. net — in sport
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. chest — of your body
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. tube — the underground
  22. net — for catching
  23. net — after costs
  24. chair — to sit on

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