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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 · chest · shower · bear · pound · patient

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. shower — to wash
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. shower — rain
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. pound — a weight
  9. bear — the animal
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. chest — of your body
  13. press — to push
  14. bear — the animal
  15. press — newspapers
  16. press — a publisher
  17. chest — of your body
  18. pound — for dogs

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