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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.

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: rest · chip · mug · game · nail · file · capital · clip

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. rest — what's left
  5. clip — for paper
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. chip — to eat
  8. capital — money
  9. rest — a break
  10. mug — to rob
  11. chip — for betting
  12. file — a document
  13. clip — a video
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. mug — a cup
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. game — wild animals
  18. clip — to cut
  19. mug — a face
  20. rest — what's left
  21. game — a match
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. file — a line of people
  24. file — a tool

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