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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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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: capital · net · mine · chip · swing · game · mouse · bore

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. swing — in golf
  4. net — in sport
  5. net — after costs
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. swing — to play on
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. bore — to tire
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. chip — for betting
  15. mine — for digging
  16. game — wild animals
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. capital — a city
  19. game — a match
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. capital — money
  22. chip — to eat
  23. swing — music
  24. bore — to drill

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