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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: chip · bound · drill · capital · swing · net · file · field

  1. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. chip — to eat
  3. bound — tied together
  4. file — a document
  5. file — a line of people
  6. chip — for betting
  7. capital — a city
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. swing — music
  10. field — a subject
  11. drill — a practice
  12. field — farmland
  13. file — a tool
  14. capital — money
  15. drill — army training
  16. net — after costs
  17. swing — to play on
  18. field — for sport
  19. drill — the tool
  20. bound — certain
  21. net — for catching
  22. bound — obliged
  23. swing — in golf
  24. net — in sport

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