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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.

Words on the sheet
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: pop · date · fall · foot · mine · prune · press · patient

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fall — the season
  6. press — a publisher
  7. press — newspapers
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. prune — to trim
  12. mine — for digging
  13. pop — music
  14. pop — soda
  15. foot — a measure
  16. pop — to visit
  17. fall — to drop
  18. date — the fruit
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. prune — to trim

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