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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: file · bat · rest · march · spring · chip · deal · capital

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. spring — a coil
  4. spring — the season
  5. file — a line of people
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. chip — for betting
  8. chip — to eat
  9. march — the month
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. march — the month
  12. file — a tool
  13. march — music
  14. rest — what's left
  15. spring — of water
  16. file — a document
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. deal — to handle
  19. rest — what's left
  20. capital — money
  21. bat — the animal
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. capital — a city
  24. rest — a break

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