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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: chair · chip · nail · hand · capital · key · field · arm

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. key — in music
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. field — a subject
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. key — the most important part
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. key — for a lock
  12. chip — for betting
  13. field — farmland
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. capital — a city
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. hand — help
  20. chair — a leader
  21. chip — to eat
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. hand — in cards
  24. field — for sport

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