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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 120 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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. press — to push
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. press — a publisher
  6. lean — to bend
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. branch — a division
  11. cold — an illness
  12. fine — high quality
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. cold — not warm
  15. press — newspapers
  16. lean — thin
  17. bore — to drill
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. rush — hurry
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. fine — all right
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. branch — of a tree

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