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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 124 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: mark · prune · hand · last · chest · cue · drill · cabinet

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. cue — a hint
  3. chest — of your body
  4. cue — a signal
  5. drill — the tool
  6. last — final
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. chest — a box
  10. drill — a practice
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. prune — to trim
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. drill — army training
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. prune — to trim
  17. hand — in cards
  18. chest — of your body
  19. last — finally
  20. mark — a grade
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. cue — for pool
  23. last — to go on
  24. mark — a trace

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