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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: spell · chest · press · jam · rule · content · shower · pitch

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. pitch — completely
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. chest — of your body
  6. shower — rain
  7. spell — letters
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. spell — magic
  11. chest — of your body
  12. press — a publisher
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. press — to push
  15. content — happy
  16. press — newspapers
  17. rule — a law
  18. spell — a short time
  19. content — the amount
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. rule — government
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. chest — a box
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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