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

Word bank: season · trunk · chest · snap · wound · cue · firm · prune

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  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. firm — steady
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. cue — a signal
  4. snap — to click
  5. chest — of your body
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. prune — to trim
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. chest — of your body
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. prune — to trim
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. season — of the year
  16. firm — decided
  17. season — in sport
  18. wound — an injury
  19. chest — a box
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. cue — for pool
  23. firm — a company
  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