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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: prune · chip · ground · bat · last · cue · spring · wave

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. ground — a position
  3. ground — crushed
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. bat — the animal
  6. last — to go on
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. ground — the earth
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. chip — for betting
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. spring — of water
  14. spring — the season
  15. cue — a signal
  16. last — finally
  17. spring — a coil
  18. prune — to trim
  19. cue — a hint
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. last — final
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. chip — to eat
  24. cue — for pool

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