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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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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 · file · nail · net · bat · chip · pop · arm

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. net — for catching
  5. file — a tool
  6. net — in sport
  7. bat — the animal
  8. file — a line of people
  9. pop — soda
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. chip — for betting
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. chip — to eat
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. capital — a city
  17. pop — music
  18. capital — money
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. file — a document
  21. net — after costs
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. arm — a part of something

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