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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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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: face · pit · snap · prune · pound · field · mate · cue

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. cue — a hint
  3. prune — to trim
  4. pit — a hole
  5. mate — to breed
  6. pound — a weight
  7. cue — a signal
  8. cue — for pool
  9. field — a subject
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. face — to point toward
  14. field — for sport
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. field — farmland
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. face — part of the head
  19. snap — to click
  20. mate — a friend
  21. prune — to trim
  22. pit — in a race
  23. face — to confront
  24. prune — the fruit

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