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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: rash · pitch · chip · ground · tear · press · shower · date

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. ground — crushed
  3. rash — hasty
  4. shower — to wash
  5. date — the fruit
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. press — a publisher
  9. ground — the earth
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. tear — to rip
  12. chip — to eat
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. chip — for betting
  16. shower — rain
  17. tear — from crying
  18. rash — a series
  19. press — newspapers
  20. pitch — completely
  21. tear — from crying
  22. ground — a position
  23. press — to push
  24. chip — in a computer

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