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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: land · lean · rash · shower · wound · club · pop · press

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. land — a country
  3. land — to come down
  4. lean — to bend
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. press — a publisher
  8. wound — an injury
  9. rash — hasty
  10. shower — rain
  11. club — a group
  12. press — newspapers
  13. club — for dancing
  14. pop — to visit
  15. press — to push
  16. pop — soda
  17. pop — music
  18. land — ground
  19. club — for golf
  20. shower — to wash
  21. rash — a series
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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