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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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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: press · cap · bear · prune · shower · wind · pound · kid

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. cap — a hat
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. press — newspapers
  7. cap — of ice
  8. wind — moving air
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. bear — the animal
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. cap — a lid
  14. kid — child
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. pound — a weight
  18. press — a publisher
  19. press — to push
  20. prune — to trim
  21. bear — the animal
  22. prune — to trim
  23. shower — rain
  24. kid — to tease

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