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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 · hand · dip · lean · tear · degree · date · prune

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. tear — from crying
  5. degree — from a university
  6. dip — to sink
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. tear — from crying
  9. press — to push
  10. press — a publisher
  11. lean — thin
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. lean — to bend
  14. degree — an amount
  15. date — the fruit
  16. hand — in cards
  17. prune — to trim
  18. press — newspapers
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. tear — to rip
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. degree — temperature
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. hand — help

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