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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 120 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: shower · fine · straw · prune · press · chip · bat · degree

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. degree — from a university
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — to trim
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. press — newspapers
  8. fine — all right
  9. degree — temperature
  10. press — a publisher
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. shower — to wash
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. degree — an amount
  15. fine — high quality
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. chip — to eat
  18. chip — for betting
  19. press — to push
  20. shower — rain
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. prune — the fruit

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