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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: last · bore · pitcher · bat · press · bulb · fine · mine

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. fine — all right
  3. bore — to drill
  4. mine — for digging
  5. bulb — for light
  6. last — finally
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bat — the animal
  9. last — final
  10. press — to push
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. last — to go on
  13. fine — high quality
  14. bulb — for light
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. press — a publisher
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. press — newspapers
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. bore — to tire
  24. bat — for baseball

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