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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 120 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: bear · mine · drill · staff · scale · press · tear · cold

  1. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. staff — employees
  3. scale — in music
  4. bear — the animal
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. drill — army training
  8. cold — not warm
  9. press — a publisher
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. tear — from crying
  12. scale — size or range
  13. drill — a practice
  14. drill — the tool
  15. tear — to rip
  16. press — to push
  17. bear — the animal
  18. mine — for digging
  19. tear — from crying
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. staff — a stick
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. staff — employees

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