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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. pop — to visit
  3. bore — to tire
  4. pop — soda
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. pop — music
  7. present — a gift
  8. bank — for money
  9. press — to push
  10. press — a publisher
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. present — the time now
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. cold — not warm
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. bank — of a river
  18. bank — for money
  19. bore — to drill
  20. present — there
  21. cold — an illness
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. press — newspapers

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