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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 · cue · fall · prune · calf · club · wound · bass

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. club — for golf
  3. cue — a hint
  4. wound — an injury
  5. fall — to drop
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. bass — low music
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. bass — the fish
  10. prune — to trim
  11. cue — for pool
  12. fall — to drop
  13. club — a group
  14. prune — to trim
  15. face — part of the head
  16. wound — an injury
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. fall — the season
  21. cue — a signal
  22. face — to confront
  23. club — for dancing
  24. face — to point toward

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