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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: rock · race · pitcher · shower · content · band · bank · press

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. press — to push
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. bank — for money
  7. race — a contest
  8. rock — music
  9. bank — of a river
  10. race — humankind
  11. band — a music group
  12. band — a ring
  13. content — happy
  14. shower — rain
  15. content — the amount
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. bank — for money
  18. rock — a stone
  19. press — newspapers
  20. press — a publisher
  21. race — the arms race
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. pitcher — a jug

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