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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: toast · wave · saw · prune · present · cue · file · chair

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. chair — a leader
  4. cue — a signal
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. file — a tool
  7. present — there
  8. present — the time now
  9. toast — bread
  10. file — a line of people
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. cue — a hint
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. saw — the tool
  18. cue — for pool
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. prune — to trim
  21. saw — the tool
  22. prune — to trim
  23. file — a document
  24. wave — of the sea

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