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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. cold — an illness
  3. press — a publisher
  4. staff — employees
  5. drill — a practice
  6. land — to come down
  7. land — a country
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. press — newspapers
  10. tear — to rip
  11. press — to push
  12. tear — from crying
  13. land — ground
  14. mate — a partner
  15. key — for a lock
  16. staff — employees
  17. cold — not warm
  18. key — the most important part
  19. key — in music
  20. staff — a stick
  21. tear — from crying
  22. mate — to breed
  23. drill — army training
  24. drill — the tool

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