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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
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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: ball · cabinet · deal · tube · race · mine · clip · prune

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. prune — to trim
  3. clip — for paper
  4. tube — the underground
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. mine — for digging
  7. ball — a dance
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. deal — to handle
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. clip — a video
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. race — the arms race
  16. race — humankind
  17. ball — a great time
  18. race — a contest
  19. prune — to trim
  20. tube — a container
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. clip — to cut
  24. deal — a big deal

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