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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 116 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 · last · bat · calf · cue · capital · spring · leaves

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. spring — a coil
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. cue — a hint
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. last — to go on
  8. spring — of water
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. cue — a signal
  11. capital — money
  12. spring — the season
  13. bat — the animal
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. capital — a city
  16. last — finally
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. cue — for pool
  24. bat — for baseball

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