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

Word bank: capital · rest · tear · kid · can · last · current · key

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. can — to be able to
  4. tear — from crying
  5. kid — child
  6. capital — money
  7. current — of water
  8. key — for a lock
  9. key — the most important part
  10. rest — what's left
  11. last — finally
  12. capital — a city
  13. can — a tin
  14. can — a tin
  15. current — electric
  16. last — to go on
  17. current — happening now
  18. tear — to rip
  19. key — in music
  20. tear — from crying
  21. rest — a break
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. rest — what's left
  24. kid — to tease

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