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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. bore — to tire
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. cold — an illness
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. clip — for paper
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. clip — a video
  10. drill — army training
  11. bore — to drill
  12. press — newspapers
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. drill — the tool
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. drill — a practice
  22. cold — not warm
  23. clip — to cut
  24. press — to push

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