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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. cap — a lid
  3. wound — an injury
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. press — a publisher
  8. press — newspapers
  9. bank — of a river
  10. press — to push
  11. wound — an injury
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. bank — for money
  14. snap — to click
  15. pitch — completely
  16. cap — of ice
  17. shower — to wash
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. shower — rain
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. cap — a hat
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. bank — for money
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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