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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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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: press · saw · bat · band · date · prune · wake · wax

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. wake — a trail
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. press — a publisher
  12. press — newspapers
  13. press — to push
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. band — a music group
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. prune — to trim
  18. wax — to grow
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. prune — to trim
  21. saw — the tool
  22. bat — the animal
  23. band — a ring
  24. saw — the tool

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