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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 120 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 · bore · bulb · rest · pound · press · fork · straw

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. rest — what's left
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. fork — in a road
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. bulb — for light
  7. press — a publisher
  8. cold — an illness
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. pound — a weight
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. bulb — for light
  15. press — newspapers
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. cold — not warm
  19. bore — to tire
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. bore — to drill
  23. press — to push
  24. rest — what's left

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