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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: rule · march · bat · press · shower · bark

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. march — music
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. shower — rain
  5. press — to push
  6. bark — to shout
  7. rule — government
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. press — newspapers
  12. press — a publisher
  13. march — the month
  14. march — the month
  15. shower — to wash
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. rule — a law

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