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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: staff · press · bound · pit · club · bore · cold · kid

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. staff — employees
  3. bound — obliged
  4. bound — tied together
  5. kid — child
  6. club — for golf
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cold — an illness
  9. staff — a stick
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. press — a publisher
  12. bore — to drill
  13. club — a group
  14. cold — not warm
  15. pit — a hole
  16. staff — employees
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. bore — to tire
  20. pit — in a race
  21. press — to push
  22. club — for dancing
  23. press — newspapers
  24. bound — certain

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