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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: content · capital · key · nail · file · bat · kid · bank

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. bank — for money
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. key — the most important part
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. bank — of a river
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. content — happy
  9. kid — to tease
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. kid — child
  14. key — in music
  15. capital — a city
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. content — the amount
  18. bank — for money
  19. file — a tool
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. file — a line of people
  22. capital — money
  23. key — for a lock
  24. file — a document

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