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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: mate · wax · trunk · prune · cue · pitch · chair · squash

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. chair — a leader
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. squash — to crush
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. mate — to breed
  7. mate — a friend
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — to trim
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. cue — a hint
  13. pitch — completely
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. cue — a signal
  16. wax — to grow
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. cue — for pool
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. mate — a partner
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. squash — the sport
  24. pitch — a sports field

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