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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: net · rush · foot · nail · fork · last · capital · march

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. net — in sport
  4. last — final
  5. capital — a city
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. foot — a measure
  8. rush — hurry
  9. fork — in a road
  10. march — music
  11. march — the month
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. net — after costs
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. capital — money
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. march — the month
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. last — to go on
  24. last — finally

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