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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. rush — hurry
  3. bore — to tire
  4. band — a music group
  5. drill — a practice
  6. mate — a partner
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. drill — the tool
  9. drill — army training
  10. band — a ring
  11. press — to push
  12. net — for catching
  13. cap — a hat
  14. net — after costs
  15. net — in sport
  16. bore — to drill
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. press — a publisher
  19. mate — to breed
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. press — newspapers
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. mate — a friend
  24. cap — a lid

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