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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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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: land · calf · bound · suit · prune · cell · last · cue

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. suit — to fit
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. land — to come down
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. cell — in biology
  7. prune — to trim
  8. bound — obliged
  9. cue — for pool
  10. cue — a hint
  11. suit — clothes
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. bound — tied together
  14. bound — certain
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. land — a country
  17. last — finally
  18. last — to go on
  19. suit — in cards
  20. land — ground
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. cell — a phone
  23. last — final
  24. cue — a signal

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