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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: pit · fan · drill · mine · prune · leaves · straw · press

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. pit — in a race
  3. press — to push
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. prune — to trim
  8. press — a publisher
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. drill — army training
  13. prune — to trim
  14. drill — the tool
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. drill — a practice
  20. pit — a hole
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. mine — for digging
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. press — newspapers

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