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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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Word bank
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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. pitch — completely
  3. press — to push
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. staff — employees
  6. mate — to breed
  7. bore — to tire
  8. press — newspapers
  9. bore — to drill
  10. mate — a partner
  11. cold — an illness
  12. tube — the underground
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. staff — a stick
  16. press — a publisher
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. staff — employees
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. cold — not warm
  23. tube — a container
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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