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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: press · tear · mate · shower · race · net

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. mate — a friend
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. mate — a partner
  5. shower — to wash
  6. race — the arms race
  7. tear — from crying
  8. race — humankind
  9. press — to push
  10. press — newspapers
  11. press — a publisher
  12. net — in sport
  13. net — for catching
  14. shower — rain
  15. race — a contest
  16. net — after costs
  17. tear — to rip
  18. mate — to breed

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