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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cue · board · mine · cold · bear · prune

  1. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. mine — for digging
  3. board — to get on
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. bear — the animal
  6. board — a committee
  7. prune — to trim
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cue — a hint
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. cue — a signal
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. prune — to trim
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. bear — the animal
  18. prune — the fruit

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