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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. bore — to tire
  3. press — newspapers
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. press — to push
  8. land — a country
  9. kid — child
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. band — a music group
  12. land — ground
  13. spring — of water
  14. spring — the season
  15. land — to come down
  16. fork — in a road
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. bore — to drill
  19. spring — a coil
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. press — a publisher
  22. band — a ring
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. fork — a garden 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