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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.

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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: row · face · press · present · spring · board · shower · field

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. spring — of water
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. press — a publisher
  5. present — a gift
  6. spring — the season
  7. board — to get on
  8. spring — a coil
  9. row — a line
  10. face — part of the head
  11. shower — to wash
  12. press — to push
  13. field — farmland
  14. field — a subject
  15. present — there
  16. face — to confront
  17. field — for sport
  18. board — a committee
  19. press — newspapers
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. row — to paddle
  22. face — to point toward
  23. present — the time now
  24. board — a flat piece

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