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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: kid · staff · last · pass · craft · capital

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. staff — a stick
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. kid — child
  5. staff — employees
  6. craft — a skill
  7. last — to go on
  8. capital — a city
  9. kid — to tease
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. craft — boats
  12. staff — employees
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. last — final
  15. capital — money
  16. pass — a permit
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. pass — to spend time

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