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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: press · roll · staff · clip · mine · bore · cue · chest

  1. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. staff — employees
  4. roll — a cake
  5. bore — to drill
  6. cue — a signal
  7. bore — to tire
  8. mine — for digging
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. clip — for paper
  11. cue — for pool
  12. press — to push
  13. chest — a box
  14. staff — a stick
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. chest — of your body
  18. staff — employees
  19. clip — to cut
  20. clip — a video
  21. chest — of your body
  22. press — newspapers
  23. press — a publisher
  24. cue — a hint

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