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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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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: bank · press · bulb · shower · court · tear

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. 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. press — a publisher
  2. shower — rain
  3. press — to push
  4. court — for sport
  5. tear — to rip
  6. shower — to wash
  7. bank — for money
  8. tear — from crying
  9. bulb — for light
  10. court — of a king
  11. court — of law
  12. bulb — for light
  13. bank — for money
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. tear — from crying
  17. bank — of a river
  18. 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