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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 120 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: nail · wake · wound · fall · shower · press · hide · pop

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. press — a publisher
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. fall — the season
  6. wake — a trail
  7. wound — an injury
  8. shower — to wash
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. fall — to drop
  11. press — to push
  12. pop — music
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. pop — soda
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. shower — rain
  20. pop — to visit
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. fall — to drop
  24. press — newspapers

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