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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: bay · field · chip · press · bore · cold · jam · mate

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. field — farmland
  3. mate — a friend
  4. chip — to eat
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. cold — not warm
  7. field — for sport
  8. bore — to drill
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. cold — an illness
  12. press — to push
  13. press — a publisher
  14. mate — a partner
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. bore — to tire
  17. press — newspapers
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. field — a subject
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. chip — for betting
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. cold — the Cold War

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