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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: prune · press · tube · staff · bat · bowl · trunk · date

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. staff — a stick
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. tube — the underground
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. staff — employees
  11. date — the fruit
  12. press — newspapers
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. tube — a container
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. prune — to trim
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. press — a publisher
  20. bat — the animal
  21. staff — employees
  22. prune — to trim
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. press — to push

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