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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 116 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 · pass · prune · shower · cold · wave · game · bear

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. shower — rain
  4. shower — to wash
  5. pass — a permit
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. press — to push
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. press — a publisher
  12. cold — not warm
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. game — wild animals
  15. cold — an illness
  16. prune — to trim
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bear — the animal
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. press — newspapers
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. prune — to trim

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