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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
468
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: last · trunk · rash · scale · fork · pound · capital · hand

  1. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. capital — a city
  3. last — to go on
  4. last — finally
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. scale — in music
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. pound — a weight
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. scale — size or range
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. rash — hasty
  16. fork — in a road
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. capital — money
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. last — final
  21. hand — help
  22. hand — in cards
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. hand — part of the body

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