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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: spring · trunk · rash · prune · pit · tube · pop · squash

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. spring — the season
  3. spring — of water
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. rash — a series
  7. pit — in a race
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. rash — hasty
  10. spring — a coil
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. pop — soda
  14. tube — the underground
  15. squash — the sport
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. prune — to trim
  18. pop — music
  19. squash — to crush
  20. prune — to trim
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. tube — a container
  24. pit — a hole

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