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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. hand — help
  5. chest — of your body
  6. last — to go on
  7. chest — a box
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. dip — to sink
  10. object — an aim
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. last — final
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. cue — for pool
  15. last — finally
  16. cue — a signal
  17. chest — of your body
  18. hand — in cards
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. prune — to trim
  21. object — a thing
  22. object — to protest
  23. cue — a hint
  24. coach — a trainer

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