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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: hand · rest · press · fall · sharp · march · bore · stick

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. bore — to tire
  3. fall — the season
  4. march — the month
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. march — the month
  8. hand — help
  9. rest — a break
  10. march — music
  11. fall — to drop
  12. rest — what's left
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. fall — to drop
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. bore — to drill
  18. rest — what's left
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. hand — in cards
  21. press — newspapers
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. press — a publisher
  24. sharp — clever

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