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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
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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: content · prune · trunk · hand · spell · cue · hide · kick

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. prune — to trim
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. spell — a short time
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. content — happy
  9. spell — magic
  10. hand — help
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. spell — letters
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. cue — for pool
  16. cue — a hint
  17. content — the amount
  18. kick — in football
  19. prune — to trim
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. cue — a signal
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. hand — in cards

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