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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. foot — a measure
  4. net — for catching
  5. key — for a lock
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. net — after costs
  9. key — in music
  10. last — finally
  11. capital — money
  12. key — the most important part
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. stock — goods
  16. stock — shares
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. last — to go on
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. net — in sport
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. capital — a city
  23. craft — a skill
  24. craft — boats

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