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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 116 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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. cue — a signal
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. content — the amount
  7. bark — to shout
  8. content — happy
  9. cue — for pool
  10. prune — to trim
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. prune — to trim
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. wax — to grow
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. clip — a video
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. clip — for paper
  23. cue — a hint
  24. clip — to cut

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