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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: kick · stand · bore · chair · spring · coach · press · pitcher

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. press — a publisher
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. press — newspapers
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. spring — of water
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. chair — a leader
  15. spring — the season
  16. spring — a coil
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. bore — to drill
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. kick — in football
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. press — to push
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. stand — to bear

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