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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: chair · cap · track · press · bore · season · mine · date

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. press — to push
  3. date — the fruit
  4. cap — a lid
  5. season — of the year
  6. track — a song
  7. track — to keep track
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. press — newspapers
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. chair — a leader
  12. cap — a hat
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. bore — to tire
  19. cap — of ice
  20. bore — to drill
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. season — in sport
  23. mine — for digging
  24. press — a publisher

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