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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: field · mouse · press · band · content · bore · cold · bear

  1. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. cold — an illness
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. content — happy
  6. bear — the animal
  7. press — to push
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. field — farmland
  10. bore — to tire
  11. field — for sport
  12. cold — not warm
  13. band — a music group
  14. field — a subject
  15. bore — to drill
  16. bear — the animal
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. band — a ring
  20. content — the amount
  21. press — a publisher
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. bear — to put up with

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