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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: last · bay · bore · land · press · pit · staff · mate

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. last — final
  3. pit — a hole
  4. mate — to breed
  5. press — to push
  6. mate — a friend
  7. press — a publisher
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. bore — to drill
  11. last — finally
  12. staff — employees
  13. bore — to tire
  14. last — to go on
  15. staff — a stick
  16. land — to come down
  17. press — newspapers
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. pit — in a race
  22. staff — employees
  23. mate — a partner
  24. land — a country

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