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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. bore — to tire
  5. wake — a trail
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. mine — for digging
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. stand — to bear
  15. press — a publisher
  16. bore — to drill
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. cold — an illness
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. press — newspapers
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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