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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: press · drill · mine · present · cell · fall

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. 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. cell — a phone
  2. present — there
  3. fall — to drop
  4. cell — in biology
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. drill — a practice
  9. drill — the tool
  10. fall — the season
  11. press — a publisher
  12. mine — for digging
  13. press — to push
  14. fall — to drop
  15. present — the time now
  16. drill — army training
  17. present — a gift
  18. 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