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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: bear · bat · degree · rush · prune · fine · dip · toast

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. degree — from a university
  4. fine — all right
  5. bat — the animal
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. prune — to trim
  10. dip — to sink
  11. degree — an amount
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. toast — bread
  14. rush — hurry
  15. prune — to trim
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. bear — the animal
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. fine — high quality
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. degree — temperature
  24. bear — the animal

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