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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: file · swing · chest · net · cap · cue · prune · fork

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. net — for catching
  3. net — after costs
  4. cue — for pool
  5. cue — a hint
  6. swing — in golf
  7. swing — to play on
  8. fork — in a road
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. cue — a signal
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. prune — to trim
  13. file — a tool
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — a box
  17. cap — a hat
  18. net — in sport
  19. chest — of your body
  20. cap — of ice
  21. file — a line of people
  22. swing — music
  23. file — a document
  24. prune — to trim

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