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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 116 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: mine · spring · wax · sharp · tube · snap · bore · prune

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. prune — to trim
  3. bore — to tire
  4. spring — a coil
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. snap — to click
  8. prune — to trim
  9. spring — the season
  10. wax — to grow
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. tube — the underground
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. bore — to drill
  18. sharp — clever
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. mine — for digging
  24. tube — a container

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