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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: cap · date · rest · degree · file · prune · snap · squash

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. degree — from a university
  3. snap — to click
  4. rest — what's left
  5. date — the fruit
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. file — a document
  9. rest — what's left
  10. squash — the sport
  11. degree — temperature
  12. squash — to crush
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. file — a tool
  15. cap — a hat
  16. prune — to trim
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. rest — a break
  19. degree — an amount
  20. file — a line of people
  21. cap — a lid
  22. prune — to trim
  23. cap — of ice
  24. date — on the calendar

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