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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 · spring · charge · firm · track · fall · shower · bat

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. press — to push
  3. fall — to drop
  4. track — to keep track
  5. charge — a price
  6. firm — a company
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. spring — the season
  10. track — a path
  11. charge — electricity
  12. bat — the animal
  13. firm — steady
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. fall — the season
  16. charge — in control
  17. spring — a coil
  18. press — a publisher
  19. track — a song
  20. fall — to drop
  21. shower — to wash
  22. press — newspapers
  23. firm — decided
  24. spring — of water

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