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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
468
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 · staff · degree · spell · cell · mine · track · bore

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. bore — to tire
  3. bore — to drill
  4. degree — temperature
  5. staff — a stick
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. track — a path
  8. staff — employees
  9. degree — an amount
  10. spell — letters
  11. cell — a phone
  12. cell — in biology
  13. press — newspapers
  14. spell — magic
  15. degree — from a university
  16. mine — for digging
  17. press — to push
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. staff — employees
  20. track — to keep track
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. spell — a short time
  23. press — a publisher
  24. track — a song

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