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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: last · press · mark · cold · game · cabinet · bore · ground

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. game — a match
  3. last — final
  4. bore — to tire
  5. ground — crushed
  6. last — to go on
  7. ground — a position
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. game — wild animals
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cold — not warm
  14. press — a publisher
  15. ground — the earth
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. mark — a grade
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. mark — a trace
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. last — finally
  22. press — newspapers
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. bore — to drill

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