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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: date · straw · bore · wound · press · tube · content · pitch

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. wound — an injury
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. content — the amount
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. press — a publisher
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. bore — to tire
  11. tube — the underground
  12. date — the fruit
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. bore — to drill
  17. content — happy
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. pitch — completely
  21. press — newspapers
  22. wound — an injury
  23. tube — a container
  24. press — to push

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