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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: wind · prune · game · snap · pitcher · coach · stock · cue

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. prune — to trim
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. game — wild animals
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. wind — moving air
  10. stock — shares
  11. stock — goods
  12. snap — to click
  13. prune — to trim
  14. wind — moving air
  15. game — a match
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. cue — for pool
  18. cue — a signal
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. pitcher — a jug

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