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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: press · fan · chair · bark · pitch · wake · wind · shower

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. press — to push
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. bark — to shout
  8. shower — to wash
  9. wake — a trail
  10. wind — moving air
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. press — newspapers
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. shower — rain
  17. chair — a leader
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. wind — moving air
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. press — a publisher
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. pitch — completely

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