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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: nail · spring · prune · squash · tube · bat · net · mouse

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. prune — to trim
  3. squash — the sport
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. spring — of water
  7. tube — the underground
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. squash — to crush
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. net — for catching
  17. spring — the season
  18. net — in sport
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. tube — a container
  21. prune — to trim
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. spring — a coil
  24. net — after costs

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