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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: press · bowl · net · shower · spring · board · tear · lie

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. board — to get on
  3. tear — to rip
  4. spring — the season
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. press — to push
  7. tear — from crying
  8. net — for catching
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. press — newspapers
  11. spring — a coil
  12. tear — from crying
  13. lie — to recline
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. shower — rain
  16. net — after costs
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. press — a publisher
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. net — in sport
  23. spring — of water
  24. board — a committee

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