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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: root · coach · wind · tube · drill · press · fine · straw

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. fine — all right
  3. tube — the underground
  4. root — of a word
  5. drill — a practice
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. fine — high quality
  8. press — to push
  9. wind — moving air
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. root — the cause
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. drill — the tool
  15. root — of a plant
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. wind — moving air
  22. press — newspapers
  23. press — a publisher
  24. drill — army training

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