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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: capital · mate · key · cue · last · club · drill · prune

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. prune — to trim
  3. club — a group
  4. key — the most important part
  5. last — to go on
  6. capital — a city
  7. cue — for pool
  8. drill — a practice
  9. club — for dancing
  10. key — in music
  11. prune — to trim
  12. drill — army training
  13. mate — a friend
  14. mate — a partner
  15. capital — money
  16. key — for a lock
  17. club — for golf
  18. mate — to breed
  19. cue — a signal
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. drill — the tool
  23. last — final
  24. cue — a hint

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