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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: wind · press · pop · file · rule · shower · pitcher · kid

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. press — to push
  3. rule — government
  4. press — newspapers
  5. kid — child
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. pop — soda
  8. pop — music
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. file — a tool
  13. wind — moving air
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. file — a document
  16. rule — a law
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. press — a publisher
  19. pop — to visit
  20. shower — to wash
  21. shower — rain
  22. file — a line of people
  23. wind — moving air
  24. kid — to tease

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