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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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. rest — what's left
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. face — to confront
  5. press — to push
  6. rest — what's left
  7. press — a publisher
  8. root — of a word
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. press — newspapers
  11. bore — to tire
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. rest — a break
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. date — the fruit
  16. cold — not warm
  17. bark — to shout
  18. root — the cause
  19. face — part of the head
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. root — of a plant
  22. face — to point toward
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. cold — an illness

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