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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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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: fall · shower · bay · press · ground · spell · chair · snap

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  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. fall — to drop
  2. fall — to drop
  3. spell — a short time
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. chair — a leader
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. ground — crushed
  10. press — to push
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. spell — letters
  14. snap — to click
  15. press — a publisher
  16. shower — to wash
  17. spell — magic
  18. press — newspapers
  19. fall — the season
  20. ground — the earth
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. ground — a position
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  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