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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: prune · cue · charge · arm · bowl · chest · straw · field

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. prune — to trim
  4. charge — in control
  5. cue — a signal
  6. chest — of your body
  7. cue — a hint
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. chest — a box
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. charge — electricity
  12. charge — a price
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. chest — of your body
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. field — farmland
  20. prune — to trim
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. field — for sport
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. cue — for pool

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