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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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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 · wind · mine · cold · safe · press · chest · lie

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. mine — for digging
  3. press — to push
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. chest — a box
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. chest — of your body
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. lie — to recline
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. chest — of your body
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. bore — to drill
  19. press — newspapers
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cold — an illness
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. bore — to tire
  24. press — a publisher

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