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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: mouse · rash · mine · land · spring · fine · prune · pit

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. pit — a hole
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. land — a country
  6. spring — the season
  7. rash — a series
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. prune — to trim
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. land — to come down
  14. spring — of water
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. land — ground
  18. fine — high quality
  19. prune — to trim
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. fine — all right
  22. rash — hasty
  23. spring — a coil
  24. pit — in a race

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