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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: last · field · stock · pass · object · craft · capital · pound

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. 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. craft — a handicraft
  2. field — a subject
  3. last — to go on
  4. last — finally
  5. pass — a permit
  6. stock — goods
  7. craft — boats
  8. stock — shares
  9. capital — a city
  10. last — final
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. capital — money
  13. object — to protest
  14. field — for sport
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. object — an aim
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. craft — a skill
  20. object — a thing
  21. pound — a weight
  22. field — farmland
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. 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