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

Word bank: cold · straw · press · pit · bear · deal

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. cold — an illness
  3. bear — the animal
  4. press — to push
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. pit — in a race
  11. bear — the animal
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. deal — to handle
  14. press — newspapers
  15. press — a publisher
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. pit — a hole

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