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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 116 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: cold · press · bark · cap · kid · present · bay · bore

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  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. bore — gave birth
  2. present — a gift
  3. bore — to drill
  4. press — a publisher
  5. cap — a lid
  6. present — the time now
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. kid — child
  10. cap — a hat
  11. cold — not warm
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. bark — to shout
  14. present — there
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. bore — to tire
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. kid — to tease
  22. press — to push
  23. cap — of ice
  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