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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: season · date · press · prune · kid · ball

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. kid — to tease
  3. press — to push
  4. prune — to trim
  5. date — the fruit
  6. ball — a great time
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. prune — to trim
  9. press — newspapers
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. press — a publisher
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. kid — child
  16. season — in sport
  17. ball — a dance
  18. ball — a round shape

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