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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: cap · nail · net · file · date · cell · chip · present

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. cell — a phone
  3. chip — to eat
  4. present — a gift
  5. date — the fruit
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. present — there
  8. cap — of ice
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. cell — in biology
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. file — a line of people
  13. net — in sport
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. cap — a lid
  16. cap — a hat
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. file — a tool
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. present — the time now
  22. file — a document
  23. chip — for betting
  24. net — for catching

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