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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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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 · stick · trunk · drill · pop · date · fan · spring

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. pop — music
  3. cue — a hint
  4. pop — soda
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. drill — a practice
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. cue — a signal
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. date — the fruit
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. drill — army training
  14. drill — the tool
  15. cue — for pool
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. spring — of water
  20. pop — to visit
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. spring — the season
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. spring — a coil

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