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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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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: pit · board · drill · cell · rest · wind · spring · press

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. drill — army training
  3. wind — moving air
  4. press — a publisher
  5. rest — what's left
  6. press — newspapers
  7. cell — a phone
  8. spring — a coil
  9. rest — what's left
  10. press — to push
  11. wind — moving air
  12. board — to get on
  13. spring — the season
  14. rest — a break
  15. drill — a practice
  16. cell — in biology
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. pit — a hole
  19. spring — of water
  20. board — a committee
  21. pit — in a race
  22. drill — the tool
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. wind — to turn a key

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