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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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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: press · wind · cold · ball · rush · mug · bore · nail

  1. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  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. mug — a cup
  2. press — a publisher
  3. mug — to rob
  4. cold — not warm
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — moving air
  7. cold — an illness
  8. ball — a great time
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. rush — hurry
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. mug — a face
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. ball — a dance
  17. bore — to tire
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. press — to push
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. press — newspapers
  23. bore — gave birth
  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