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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. spell — letters
  3. bore — to drill
  4. bore — to tire
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. drill — the tool
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. drill — army training
  10. capital — a city
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. press — to push
  15. capital — money
  16. spell — a short time
  17. stem — to come from
  18. press — newspapers
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. wind — moving air
  21. spell — magic
  22. wind — moving air
  23. drill — a practice
  24. stem — a stem cell

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