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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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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: cold · capital · fall · bore · press · stick · ruler · pop

  1. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. pop — to visit
  3. cold — an illness
  4. fall — the season
  5. pop — music
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. press — newspapers
  8. capital — a city
  9. bore — to tire
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fall — to drop
  12. pop — soda
  13. cold — not warm
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. bore — to drill
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. press — a publisher
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. press — to push
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. capital — money

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