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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: band · deal · spring · clip · mine · cue · wake · bore

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. bore — to tire
  4. mine — for digging
  5. spring — the season
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. wake — a trail
  8. band — a music group
  9. clip — to cut
  10. clip — for paper
  11. band — a ring
  12. cue — for pool
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. bore — to drill
  18. spring — of water
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. cue — a signal
  21. deal — to handle
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. spring — a coil
  24. clip — a video

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