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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. pitch — completely
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. press — a publisher
  6. rash — hasty
  7. press — to push
  8. bore — to tire
  9. press — newspapers
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. bore — to drill
  12. rash — a series
  13. wind — moving air
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. file — a document
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. wind — moving air
  21. file — a tool
  22. file — a line of people
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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