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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: temple · racket · cue · snap · straw · prune · kid · file

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. kid — child
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. cue — for pool
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. file — a document
  8. cue — a hint
  9. cue — a signal
  10. prune — to trim
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. snap — to click
  13. kid — to tease
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. file — a tool
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. file — a line of people
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. racket — for tennis

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