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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: fall · press · rash · bore · mine · shower · track · kid

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fall — to drop
  4. shower — rain
  5. press — a publisher
  6. kid — to tease
  7. rash — a series
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. shower — to wash
  14. press — to push
  15. fall — the season
  16. bore — to drill
  17. kid — child
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. track — a song
  20. rash — hasty
  21. mine — for digging
  22. track — a path
  23. press — newspapers
  24. track — to keep track

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