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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: deal · mug · prune · clip · spring · mine · ball · kid

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. prune — to trim
  5. mine — for digging
  6. deal — to handle
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. clip — for paper
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — to cut
  11. spring — the season
  12. ball — a great time
  13. mug — a face
  14. mug — to rob
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. spring — a coil
  17. ball — a dance
  18. kid — to tease
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. kid — child
  21. mug — a cup
  22. spring — of water
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. mine — an explosive

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