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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: nail · last · wind · content · roll · foot · land · capital

  1. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. land — to come down
  3. roll — a cake
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. content — happy
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. capital — a city
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. last — to go on
  13. wind — moving air
  14. last — final
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. wind — moving air
  17. content — the amount
  18. capital — money
  19. foot — a measure
  20. last — finally
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. land — a country
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. land — ground

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