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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: bore · net · coach · charge · cold · press · season · tear

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. net — in sport
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. season — of the year
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. season — in sport
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. tear — from crying
  11. net — after costs
  12. press — a publisher
  13. press — newspapers
  14. cold — an illness
  15. net — for catching
  16. bore — to tire
  17. charge — electricity
  18. press — to push
  19. tear — to rip
  20. charge — a price
  21. bore — to drill
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. charge — in control
  24. coach — a trainer

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