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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 116 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: racket · bat · prune · wake · charge · band · cold · cue

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  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. band — a rubber band
  2. bat — the animal
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. cue — a signal
  5. cold — an illness
  6. wake — a trail
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. prune — to trim
  10. cue — a hint
  11. cold — not warm
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. charge — a price
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. prune — to trim
  17. charge — electricity
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. band — a ring
  21. charge — in control
  22. band — a music group
  23. racket — for tennis
  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