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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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  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. cue — a signal
  2. prune — to trim
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. pop — to visit
  5. net — after costs
  6. pop — music
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. net — for catching
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. cue — for pool
  12. band — a ring
  13. spring — of water
  14. spring — the season
  15. prune — to trim
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. band — a music group
  18. spring — a coil
  19. net — in sport
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. pop — soda
  23. mine — for digging
  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