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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: chest · band · cue · snap · pop · club · root · prune

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. root — of a plant
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. snap — to click
  5. pop — soda
  6. band — a ring
  7. cue — for pool
  8. prune — to trim
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. club — a group
  11. band — a music group
  12. club — for dancing
  13. root — of a word
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. prune — to trim
  16. chest — a box
  17. pop — to visit
  18. chest — of your body
  19. club — for golf
  20. chest — of your body
  21. cue — a hint
  22. root — the cause
  23. cue — a signal
  24. pop — music

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