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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
468
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 · land · mine · fan · tube · snap · bat · temple

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. prune — to trim
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. land — a country
  11. land — ground
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. snap — to click
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. prune — to trim
  17. mine — for digging
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. bat — the animal
  20. tube — a container
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. land — to come down
  24. tube — the underground

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