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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · cue · hand · kid · mouse · prune · pass · spring

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. prune — to trim
  3. hand — help
  4. cue — a hint
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. kid — child
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. kid — to tease
  9. spring — the season
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. mine — for digging
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. pass — a permit
  16. cue — a signal
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. spring — a coil
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. cue — for pool
  23. hand — in cards
  24. spring — of water

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