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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. shower — rain
  5. press — to push
  6. band — a music group
  7. pop — music
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. press — a publisher
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. pop — to visit
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. wound — an injury
  14. shower — to wash
  15. fine — all right
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. fine — high quality
  18. rock — music
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. press — newspapers
  22. pop — soda
  23. band — a ring
  24. rock — a stone

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