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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: kid · board · prune · fork · dip · chest · wind · cue

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. board — a committee
  4. wind — moving air
  5. kid — to tease
  6. dip — to sink
  7. chest — of your body
  8. wind — moving air
  9. kid — child
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. prune — to trim
  12. cue — a hint
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. cue — for pool
  15. chest — of your body
  16. cue — a signal
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. board — to get on
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. prune — to trim
  23. chest — a box
  24. fork — in a road

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