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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 · rush · pop · roll · wind · fork · craft · hand

  1. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. wind — moving air
  5. craft — boats
  6. pop — to visit
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. capital — a city
  9. roll — a list
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. craft — a skill
  12. hand — help
  13. wind — moving air
  14. pop — soda
  15. roll — a cake
  16. capital — money
  17. rush — hurry
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. hand — in cards
  22. pop — music
  23. fork — in a road
  24. wind — to turn a key

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