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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: toast · game · pop · shower · tear · press · pass · file

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. pop — to visit
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. file — a line of people
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. file — a tool
  8. toast — bread
  9. game — wild animals
  10. pass — a permit
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. shower — rain
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. shower — to wash
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. press — newspapers
  17. pop — music
  18. game — a match
  19. tear — from crying
  20. pop — soda
  21. tear — from crying
  22. press — a publisher
  23. tear — to rip
  24. file — a document

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