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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: season · pitcher · shower · spring · press · deal · net · toast

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. net — in sport
  4. press — a publisher
  5. net — for catching
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. spring — a coil
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. deal — to handle
  12. press — newspapers
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. season — in sport
  15. toast — bread
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. shower — rain
  18. net — after costs
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. press — to push
  21. season — of the year
  22. spring — of water
  23. shower — to wash
  24. spring — the season

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