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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. cue — a signal
  3. cue — for pool
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. chest — of your body
  6. pit — in a race
  7. pit — a hole
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. swing — music
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. chest — a box
  13. prune — to trim
  14. band — a ring
  15. band — a music group
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. bat — the animal
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. swing — in golf
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. swing — to play on
  23. chest — of your body
  24. cue — a hint

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