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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: jam · shower · bay · press · spring · coach · squash · ground

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. press — to push
  5. spring — the season
  6. spring — of water
  7. shower — rain
  8. squash — to crush
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. ground — a position
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. ground — the earth
  14. press — a publisher
  15. squash — the sport
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. spring — a coil
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. press — newspapers
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. ground — crushed

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