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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: ground · patient · cold · prune · straw · cue · squash · coach

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. cue — for pool
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. prune — to trim
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. squash — to crush
  9. ground — the earth
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. ground — crushed
  13. prune — to trim
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. squash — the sport
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cue — a signal
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. ground — a position

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