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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 120 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: prune · field · chair · tube · cue · kick · stick · lash

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. tube — a container
  3. cue — a hint
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. field — for sport
  6. field — a subject
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. kick — in football
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. chair — a leader
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. prune — to trim
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. cue — for pool
  19. cue — a signal
  20. prune — to trim
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. tube — the underground
  23. field — farmland
  24. 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