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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: cue · snap · ball · capital · craft · mine · last · root

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. last — final
  4. ball — a great time
  5. root — the cause
  6. craft — boats
  7. mine — for digging
  8. cue — a hint
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. ball — a dance
  12. snap — to click
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. last — to go on
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. capital — a city
  18. cue — a signal
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. root — of a word
  21. craft — a skill
  22. root — of a plant
  23. capital — money
  24. cue — for pool

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