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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 120 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: capital · foot · bound · mine · nail · stock · squash · craft

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. capital — a city
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. bound — certain
  6. craft — boats
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. stock — shares
  11. squash — to crush
  12. bound — obliged
  13. mine — for digging
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. squash — the sport
  16. stock — goods
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. capital — money
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. craft — a skill
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. bound — tied together
  24. craft — a handicraft

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