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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: swing · cold · season · press · race · bore

  1. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. swing — music
  3. season — in sport
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. press — a publisher
  7. race — the arms race
  8. swing — to play on
  9. press — newspapers
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. press — to push
  12. swing — in golf
  13. season — of the year
  14. race — humankind
  15. cold — not warm
  16. race — a contest
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. bore — to tire

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