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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: perch · file · cold · key · net · capital · last · bank

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  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. net — in sport
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. bank — for money
  4. key — the most important part
  5. perch — the fish
  6. last — finally
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. key — in music
  10. cold — an illness
  11. capital — a city
  12. last — final
  13. cold — not warm
  14. bank — of a river
  15. last — to go on
  16. net — after costs
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. bank — for money
  19. file — a tool
  20. file — a line of people
  21. net — for catching
  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