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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: cabinet · present · mouse · bat · spring · clip · roll · prune

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. roll — a cake
  4. bat — the animal
  5. prune — to trim
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. spring — a coil
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. clip — to cut
  12. clip — a video
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. spring — of water
  15. present — a gift
  16. prune — to trim
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. clip — for paper
  21. spring — the season
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. roll — a list
  24. present — there

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