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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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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 · mate · capital · cue · fork · staff · bass · race

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  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. mate — a partner
  2. capital — a city
  3. capital — money
  4. fork — in a road
  5. cue — a hint
  6. last — to go on
  7. last — finally
  8. cue — for pool
  9. mate — to breed
  10. bass — the fish
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. last — final
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. race — a contest
  15. staff — a stick
  16. staff — employees
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. staff — employees
  19. cue — a signal
  20. race — humankind
  21. mate — a friend
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. bass — low music
  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