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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: staff · fan · press · ball · tear · mine · land · shower

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. shower — to wash
  3. staff — a stick
  4. ball — a great time
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. ball — a dance
  7. staff — employees
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. press — newspapers
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. land — to come down
  12. press — a publisher
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. land — ground
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. mine — for digging
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. press — to push
  19. tear — from crying
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. tear — to rip
  22. staff — employees
  23. land — a country
  24. shower — rain

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