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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: press · date · object · prune · court · game · bat · hide

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. object — to protest
  4. object — a thing
  5. prune — to trim
  6. press — to push
  7. court — of law
  8. press — newspapers
  9. court — for sport
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. game — a match
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. press — a publisher
  17. bat — the animal
  18. object — an aim
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. date — the fruit
  23. court — of a king
  24. game — wild animals

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