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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: capital · straw · spell · scale · squash · toast · track · last

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. capital — a city
  3. track — a song
  4. scale — size or range
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. last — finally
  7. scale — in music
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. squash — the sport
  10. capital — money
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. squash — to crush
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. track — a path
  16. last — to go on
  17. spell — a short time
  18. track — to keep track
  19. spell — letters
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. toast — bread
  24. spell — magic

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