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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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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: straw · press · coach · track · bore · drill · content · field

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. drill — the tool
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. content — the amount
  6. field — for sport
  7. press — a publisher
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. content — happy
  13. track — a song
  14. field — a subject
  15. drill — army training
  16. field — farmland
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. press — newspapers
  19. drill — a practice
  20. track — a path
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. bore — to drill
  23. track — to keep track
  24. bore — to tire

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