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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: track · season · band · pitcher · cue · prune · deal · pop

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. prune — to trim
  4. track — a path
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. band — a ring
  7. cue — a hint
  8. track — to keep track
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. season — of the year
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. pop — soda
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. prune — to trim
  15. season — in sport
  16. pop — music
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. band — a music group
  19. pop — to visit
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. deal — to handle
  22. track — a song
  23. cue — a signal
  24. cue — for pool

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