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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: bore · pound · chair · shower · ground · press · stick · mine

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. ground — the earth
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. mine — for digging
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. shower — to wash
  10. bore — to tire
  11. press — to push
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. ground — crushed
  14. press — newspapers
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. pound — a weight
  19. bore — to drill
  20. press — a publisher
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. shower — rain
  23. ground — a position
  24. chair — a leader

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