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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: nail · last · capital · shower · arm · club · craft · lean

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. capital — money
  3. last — final
  4. last — finally
  5. lean — to bend
  6. club — for dancing
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. craft — a skill
  9. craft — boats
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. capital — a city
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. lean — thin
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. shower — to wash
  17. club — for golf
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. last — to go on
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. club — a group
  22. shower — rain
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. arm — a part of something

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