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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 120 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. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. prune — to trim
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. race — a contest
  7. press — to push
  8. race — the arms race
  9. cue — for pool
  10. prune — to trim
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. press — newspapers
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. cue — a hint
  15. press — a publisher
  16. race — humankind
  17. wind — moving air
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. chest — a box
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. chest — of your body
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. chest — of your body
  24. wind — moving air

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