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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.

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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. press — to push
  3. ground — a position
  4. lean — to bend
  5. drill — a practice
  6. bore — to tire
  7. season — in sport
  8. season — of the year
  9. ground — the earth
  10. lean — thin
  11. key — in music
  12. mine — for digging
  13. press — a publisher
  14. drill — army training
  15. bore — to drill
  16. key — the most important part
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. key — for a lock
  20. press — newspapers
  21. drill — the tool
  22. ground — crushed
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. season — to add flavour

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