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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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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 · key · pound · drill · rest · swing · pit · snap

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. press — a publisher
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. drill — the tool
  6. rest — a break
  7. snap — to click
  8. key — for a lock
  9. swing — to play on
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. rest — what's left
  12. pit — a hole
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. swing — music
  15. rest — what's left
  16. swing — in golf
  17. drill — a practice
  18. pit — in a race
  19. key — the most important part
  20. press — newspapers
  21. drill — army training
  22. pound — a weight
  23. key — in music
  24. pound — to hit hard

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