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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: mine · spring · foot · prune · shower · cell · dip · mark

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. prune — to trim
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. spring — of water
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. spring — a coil
  7. mine — for digging
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. shower — to wash
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. foot — a measure
  12. spring — the season
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. cell — in biology
  16. prune — to trim
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. dip — to sink
  19. mark — a trace
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. shower — rain
  24. mark — a grade

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