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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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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: key · press · tear · drill · tube · calf · bore · cell

  1. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. tube — a container
  4. drill — a practice
  5. press — a publisher
  6. tear — from crying
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. drill — army training
  9. key — for a lock
  10. tube — the underground
  11. drill — the tool
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. press — to push
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. tear — to rip
  19. key — the most important part
  20. cell — a phone
  21. bore — to tire
  22. bore — to drill
  23. cell — in biology
  24. press — newspapers

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