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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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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: ball · date · degree · bat · rush · racket · press · prune

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. date — the fruit
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. degree — an amount
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. press — to push
  8. degree — from a university
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. prune — to trim
  11. press — a publisher
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. degree — temperature
  15. ball — a dance
  16. ball — a great time
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. rush — hurry
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. press — newspapers
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. bat — the animal
  23. prune — to trim
  24. bat — in an idiom

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