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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: date · lash · tear · prune · press · mate · stem · dip

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. prune — to trim
  3. date — the fruit
  4. mate — a friend
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. tear — from crying
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. tear — from crying
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. dip — to sink
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. mate — a partner
  17. press — newspapers
  18. press — to push
  19. mate — to breed
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. press — a publisher
  22. prune — to trim
  23. stem — to come from
  24. tear — to rip

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