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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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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. cold — not warm
  3. staff — a stick
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. press — to push
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. staff — employees
  8. ground — a position
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. staff — employees
  11. press — a publisher
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. press — newspapers
  14. ground — crushed
  15. drill — army training
  16. kick — in football
  17. ground — the earth
  18. cold — an illness
  19. prune — to trim
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. prune — to trim
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. drill — a practice

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