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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: net · cell · bore · drill · bound · pop · press · calf

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. net — in sport
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. bore — to tire
  5. press — to push
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. drill — army training
  8. bound — tied together
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. net — for catching
  11. pop — soda
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. drill — the tool
  14. drill — a practice
  15. bound — obliged
  16. pop — to visit
  17. cell — a phone
  18. bound — certain
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. pop — music
  21. cell — in biology
  22. press — newspapers
  23. net — after costs
  24. bore — to drill

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