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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: land · nail · cold · press · dip · bore · kid · branch

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. kid — child
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. land — ground
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. dip — to sink
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. press — to push
  11. branch — a division
  12. land — to come down
  13. cold — an illness
  14. press — newspapers
  15. kid — to tease
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. bore — to tire
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. land — a country
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. cold — not warm
  22. bore — to drill
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. dip — to dunk

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