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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. cue — for pool
  5. prune — to trim
  6. band — a music group
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. band — a ring
  9. cue — a hint
  10. cue — a signal
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. prune — to trim
  13. present — the time now
  14. squash — to crush
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — of your body
  17. squash — the sport
  18. deal — to handle
  19. wind — moving air
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. chest — a box
  22. present — a gift
  23. wind — moving air
  24. present — there

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