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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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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: tube · cue · lean · prune · cap · roll · bay · tear

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tube — a container
  4. prune — to trim
  5. tube — the underground
  6. cap — a hat
  7. roll — a list
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. tear — from crying
  10. cap — of ice
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. lean — to bend
  13. prune — to trim
  14. roll — a cake
  15. cue — a hint
  16. cue — a signal
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. lean — thin
  19. cue — for pool
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. tear — to rip
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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