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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: press · deal · bore · prune · wake · cold · bear · coach

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. bore — to drill
  4. bore — to tire
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. press — to push
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. cold — an illness
  10. wake — a trail
  11. deal — to handle
  12. cold — not warm
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. press — a publisher
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. bear — the animal
  19. press — newspapers
  20. prune — to trim
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. prune — to trim
  23. bear — the animal
  24. coach — a trainer

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