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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: cue · prune · mine · bat · date · wake · rest · mate

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. cue — a hint
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. rest — what's left
  6. rest — a break
  7. wake — a trail
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. prune — to trim
  10. mine — for digging
  11. cue — a signal
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. cue — for pool
  14. prune — to trim
  15. mate — a friend
  16. date — the fruit
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. bat — the animal
  19. rest — what's left
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. mate — to breed
  22. mate — a partner
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. date — on the calendar

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