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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. cue — a signal
  3. cue — for pool
  4. cell — in biology
  5. band — a ring
  6. bound — tied together
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. net — after costs
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. prune — to trim
  11. scale — size or range
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. cell — a phone
  14. bound — obliged
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. prune — to trim
  17. cue — a hint
  18. scale — in music
  19. net — in sport
  20. band — a music group
  21. net — for catching
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. cell — in a prison

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