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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
468
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 · drill · snap · ball · mine · file · chip · current

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. ball — a great time
  4. current — happening now
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. drill — the tool
  8. current — electric
  9. mine — for digging
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. file — a document
  14. current — of water
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. chip — for betting
  17. drill — a practice
  18. file — a tool
  19. ball — a dance
  20. file — a line of people
  21. capital — a city
  22. chip — to eat
  23. snap — to click
  24. drill — army training

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