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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: key · last · hand · date · game · bass · capital · rush

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. capital — a city
  3. last — final
  4. rush — hurry
  5. key — the most important part
  6. game — wild animals
  7. game — a match
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. bass — low music
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. key — for a lock
  14. hand — help
  15. key — in music
  16. capital — money
  17. bass — the fish
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. last — finally
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. hand — in cards
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. date — the fruit

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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