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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.

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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: saw · kick · craft · bat · last · court · capital · track

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. last — finally
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. craft — boats
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. capital — a city
  7. craft — a skill
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. court — of law
  10. court — of a king
  11. track — a path
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. capital — money
  14. court — for sport
  15. bat — the animal
  16. saw — the tool
  17. last — final
  18. kick — in football
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. track — a song
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. saw — the tool
  23. track — to keep track
  24. capital — a big letter

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