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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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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: shower · bore · club · cap · stick · press

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. cap — a lid
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. press — to push
  6. bore — to drill
  7. club — for dancing
  8. cap — of ice
  9. cap — a hat
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. club — for golf
  12. shower — to wash
  13. club — a group
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. press — newspapers
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. bore — to tire
  18. shower — rain

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