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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
468
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: land · pop · drill · pass · press · ball · rush · cold

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. drill — a practice
  4. drill — army training
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. land — a country
  7. pop — soda
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. drill — the tool
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. land — ground
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cold — not warm
  15. land — to come down
  16. pass — a permit
  17. press — newspapers
  18. pop — music
  19. rush — hurry
  20. ball — a dance
  21. press — a publisher
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. ball — a great time
  24. pop — to visit

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