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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: kid · last · dip · clip · spring · prune · mouse · bound

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. bound — tied together
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. last — finally
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. prune — to trim
  7. clip — to cut
  8. kid — child
  9. spring — of water
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. dip — to sink
  12. spring — a coil
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. bound — obliged
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. last — final
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. bound — certain
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. clip — a video
  21. spring — the season
  22. last — to go on
  23. kid — to tease
  24. clip — for paper

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