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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: last · capital · fan · wake · craft · can · race · court

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. last — final
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. craft — boats
  6. court — for sport
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. last — finally
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. court — of a king
  11. race — humankind
  12. wake — a trail
  13. capital — money
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. last — to go on
  16. craft — a skill
  17. capital — a city
  18. can — a tin
  19. court — of law
  20. can — to be able to
  21. race — a contest
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. race — the arms race

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