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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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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: row · wake · prune · fine · land · ground · cue · ball

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. land — ground
  3. cue — a signal
  4. ball — a dance
  5. fine — high quality
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. ground — crushed
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. cue — a hint
  12. cue — for pool
  13. ground — the earth
  14. wake — a trail
  15. row — a line
  16. land — a country
  17. prune — to trim
  18. ground — a position
  19. fine — all right
  20. row — to paddle
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. ball — a great time
  23. prune — to trim
  24. fine — a penalty

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