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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: chest · press · land · bore · bowl · present · bulb · pop

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. pop — music
  3. press — a publisher
  4. land — a country
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. land — ground
  7. press — to push
  8. bulb — for light
  9. pop — to visit
  10. bore — to drill
  11. chest — of your body
  12. present — a gift
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. bulb — for light
  16. press — newspapers
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. pop — soda
  20. present — the time now
  21. chest — a box
  22. land — to come down
  23. chest — of your body
  24. present — there

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