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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. current — of water
  4. current — electric
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. current — happening now
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. chair — a leader
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. press — a publisher
  14. cap — of ice
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. bore — to tire
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cap — a lid
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. press — newspapers
  22. cap — a hat
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. bore — to drill

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