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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 120 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: pop · wind · prune · mine · tube · leaves · deal · court

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. wind — moving air
  3. mine — for digging
  4. pop — soda
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. deal — to handle
  11. court — for sport
  12. prune — to trim
  13. court — of law
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. pop — music
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. wind — moving air
  19. prune — to trim
  20. tube — the underground
  21. pop — to visit
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. court — of a king
  24. wind — to turn a key

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