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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 116 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. mate — a friend
  3. cold — an illness
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. press — to push
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. bore — to drill
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. tube — the underground
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. press — newspapers
  12. pitch — completely
  13. mate — to breed
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. bore — to tire
  16. cold — not warm
  17. mate — a partner
  18. tube — a container

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