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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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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. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. press — to push
  4. stand — to bear
  5. drill — the tool
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. net — after costs
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. drill — a practice
  11. drill — army training
  12. land — a country
  13. cold — an illness
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. net — for catching
  19. cold — not warm
  20. land — ground
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. net — in sport
  23. press — newspapers
  24. land — to come down

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