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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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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: last · racket · stem · mine · wind · craft · pound · capital

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. craft — boats
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. wind — moving air
  5. mine — for digging
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. stem — to come from
  8. last — finally
  9. last — final
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. wind — moving air
  15. last — to go on
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. craft — a skill
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. capital — a city
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. capital — money

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