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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: shower · wake · season · pitch · sharp · bear · press · kick

  1. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. shower — to wash
  3. season — of the year
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. bear — the animal
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. pitch — completely
  9. press — newspapers
  10. press — a publisher
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. kick — in football
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. press — to push
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. bear — the animal
  20. season — in sport
  21. sharp — clever
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. shower — rain

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