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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 116 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: cue · staff · hand · capital · cabinet · board · prune · bound

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  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. prune — to trim
  2. board — to get on
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. staff — employees
  5. cue — for pool
  6. cue — a hint
  7. staff — a stick
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. bound — certain
  11. staff — employees
  12. cue — a signal
  13. capital — money
  14. board — a committee
  15. capital — a city
  16. hand — in cards
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. hand — help
  19. bound — tied together
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. bound — obliged
  22. prune — to trim
  23. cabinet — ministers
  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