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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: foot · nail · last · craft · scale · bat · capital · pop

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. capital — money
  4. last — final
  5. craft — boats
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. pop — soda
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. last — finally
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. foot — a measure
  12. capital — a city
  13. scale — size or range
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. pop — music
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. craft — a skill
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. last — to go on
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. bat — the animal
  24. scale — in music

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