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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: mate · nail · last · row · capital · deal · cabinet · march

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. row — to paddle
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. march — music
  5. capital — a city
  6. last — final
  7. last — finally
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. mate — to breed
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. march — the month
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. last — to go on
  17. mate — a partner
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. march — the month
  20. row — a line
  21. deal — to handle
  22. capital — money
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. nail — on a finger

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