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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: drill · cold · spell · press · tube · snap · content · mouse

  1. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. drill — the tool
  4. press — to push
  5. cold — an illness
  6. press — newspapers
  7. cold — not warm
  8. spell — letters
  9. snap — to click
  10. tube — the underground
  11. content — the amount
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. spell — magic
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. content — happy
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. press — a publisher
  20. tube — a container
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. drill — army training
  23. drill — a practice
  24. spell — a short time

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