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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: nail · bowl · capital · spring · rush · band · craft · board

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. capital — a city
  7. board — a committee
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. craft — a skill
  10. band — a ring
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. craft — boats
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. board — to get on
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. spring — a coil
  18. spring — of water
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. capital — money
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. spring — the season
  24. band — a music group

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