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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: craft · kid · last · capital · march · object

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. object — to protest
  5. march — music
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. kid — to tease
  8. capital — a city
  9. march — the month
  10. kid — child
  11. last — to go on
  12. last — finally
  13. capital — money
  14. craft — boats
  15. craft — a skill
  16. last — final
  17. object — an aim
  18. object — a thing

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