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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: bore · hand · drill · pitcher · stand · ball · press · rash

  1. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. bore — to drill
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. press — a publisher
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. rash — hasty
  10. drill — army training
  11. drill — a practice
  12. press — to push
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. bore — to tire
  17. drill — the tool
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. press — newspapers
  20. hand — in cards
  21. ball — a great time
  22. hand — help
  23. rash — a series
  24. ball — a dance

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