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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: wind · row · racket · capital · band · drill · chip · nail

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. chip — for betting
  4. wind — moving air
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. capital — a city
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. row — to paddle
  10. chip — to eat
  11. wind — moving air
  12. drill — the tool
  13. row — a line
  14. capital — money
  15. drill — army training
  16. band — a music group
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. drill — a practice
  21. band — a ring
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. racket — a loud noise

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