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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: swing · press · shower · snap · capital · fall

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. swing — in golf
  3. press — to push
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. capital — money
  6. snap — to click
  7. press — newspapers
  8. shower — rain
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. swing — to play on
  11. capital — a city
  12. shower — to wash
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — to drop
  16. press — a publisher
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. swing — music

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