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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: craft · degree · spring · last · safe · press · capital · nail

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. last — final
  4. craft — a skill
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. press — newspapers
  7. last — finally
  8. press — a publisher
  9. spring — a coil
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. craft — boats
  12. degree — from a university
  13. last — to go on
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. capital — money
  17. degree — temperature
  18. press — to push
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. spring — of water
  21. spring — the season
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. capital — a city
  24. capital — a big letter

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