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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: key · prune · press · march · staff · season · pop · bore

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  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 — for a lock
  2. bore — to drill
  3. key — the most important part
  4. season — in sport
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. press — a publisher
  7. march — the month
  8. staff — a stick
  9. staff — employees
  10. pop — music
  11. march — the month
  12. prune — to trim
  13. pop — to visit
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. season — of the year
  16. march — music
  17. key — in music
  18. pop — soda
  19. bore — to tire
  20. staff — employees
  21. press — to push
  22. prune — to trim
  23. bore — gave birth
  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