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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: press · mate · lash · shower · cap · roll · arm · pass

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. shower — to wash
  3. roll — a cake
  4. press — to push
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. mate — a friend
  8. cap — of ice
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. pass — a permit
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. press — a publisher
  13. cap — a hat
  14. press — newspapers
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. mate — a partner
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. shower — rain
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. roll — a list
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. mate — to breed
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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