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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
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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: face · press · bore · cold · prune · rash · straw · pop

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. face — to point toward
  3. prune — to trim
  4. press — newspapers
  5. bore — to tire
  6. cold — not warm
  7. face — to confront
  8. face — part of the head
  9. pop — to visit
  10. press — to push
  11. prune — to trim
  12. rash — hasty
  13. cold — an illness
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. rash — a series
  19. pop — music
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. bore — to drill
  22. pop — soda
  23. press — a publisher
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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