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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: court · squash · prune · hide · tube · land · dip · cue

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. prune — to trim
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. prune — to trim
  6. squash — to crush
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. cue — a hint
  9. court — of law
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. cue — for pool
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. dip — to sink
  15. tube — the underground
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. court — of a king
  18. cue — a signal
  19. land — to come down
  20. squash — the sport
  21. land — ground
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. court — for sport
  24. land — a country

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