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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 120 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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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: press · cold · bank · content · kid · present · pitcher · fork

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. present — the time now
  3. present — a gift
  4. press — a publisher
  5. press — to push
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. fork — in a road
  8. kid — to tease
  9. cold — not warm
  10. kid — child
  11. content — the amount
  12. bank — for money
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. bank — for money
  16. bank — of a river
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. content — happy
  20. press — newspapers
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. cold — an illness
  23. present — there
  24. pitcher — a jug

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