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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: face · prune · cue · swing · season · mine · dip · spring

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. mine — for digging
  5. face — to point toward
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. cue — a signal
  8. face — to confront
  9. swing — in golf
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. cue — a hint
  12. face — part of the head
  13. dip — to sink
  14. spring — a coil
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. swing — to play on
  17. prune — to trim
  18. spring — of water
  19. spring — the season
  20. swing — music
  21. cue — for pool
  22. season — in sport
  23. season — of the year
  24. season — to add flavour

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