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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. cue — a signal
  3. pop — music
  4. cue — a hint
  5. pop — soda
  6. wax — to grow
  7. mine — for digging
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. snap — to click
  10. pound — a weight
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. band — a music group
  17. cue — for pool
  18. prune — to trim
  19. band — a ring
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. prune — to trim

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