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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: drill · prune · cap · tear · mate · chest · press · hide

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. press — newspapers
  3. mate — to breed
  4. drill — the tool
  5. prune — to trim
  6. drill — a practice
  7. chest — a box
  8. drill — army training
  9. tear — from crying
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. cap — a hat
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. prune — to trim
  14. tear — to rip
  15. press — a publisher
  16. chest — of your body
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. cap — of ice
  19. press — to push
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. cap — a lid
  22. chest — of your body
  23. tear — from crying
  24. mate — a partner

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