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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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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: pitch · fan · press · present · rule · perch · cold · bore

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cold — an illness
  3. perch — the fish
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. bore — to drill
  6. cold — not warm
  7. present — the time now
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. rule — government
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. present — there
  14. press — to push
  15. press — a publisher
  16. present — a gift
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. bore — to tire
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. rule — a law
  23. pitch — completely
  24. press — newspapers

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