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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: bat · ball · shower · can · straw · press · charge · capital

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. shower — rain
  3. capital — a city
  4. can — to be able to
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. ball — a dance
  7. charge — in control
  8. press — to push
  9. press — newspapers
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. charge — electricity
  12. can — a tin
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. capital — money
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bat — the animal
  18. ball — a great time
  19. shower — to wash
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. charge — a price
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. can — a tin

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