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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: prune · straw · cue · object · row · pop · band · arm

  1. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. cue — a hint
  3. pop — soda
  4. object — an aim
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. prune — to trim
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. prune — to trim
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. object — to protest
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. row — to paddle
  16. band — a ring
  17. cue — a signal
  18. row — a line
  19. pop — to visit
  20. band — a music group
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. pop — music
  24. object — a thing

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