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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: press · shower · snap · club · craft · bowl

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  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. bowl — to roll
  2. club — for golf
  3. shower — to wash
  4. press — a publisher
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. snap — to click
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. craft — a skill
  13. club — a group
  14. club — for dancing
  15. craft — boats
  16. press — to push
  17. press — newspapers
  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