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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 · content · march · shower · cue · game · mark · row

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. press — to push
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. march — the month
  5. row — a line
  6. shower — rain
  7. press — newspapers
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. mark — a grade
  12. content — happy
  13. cue — a hint
  14. march — the month
  15. press — a publisher
  16. content — the amount
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. game — a match
  19. cue — for pool
  20. row — to paddle
  21. mark — a trace
  22. game — wild animals
  23. shower — to wash
  24. march — music

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