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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 116 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 · kick · bore · lie · field · mouse · band

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. field — a subject
  3. lie — to recline
  4. press — newspapers
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. press — to push
  8. field — farmland
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. shower — rain
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. kick — in football
  14. field — for sport
  15. shower — to wash
  16. bore — to drill
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. band — a music group
  19. bore — to tire
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. band — a ring
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. mouse — the animal

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