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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: shower · scale · file · track · press · pound · roll · spring

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. shower — rain
  4. track — a path
  5. track — a song
  6. shower — to wash
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. pound — a weight
  10. file — a line of people
  11. spring — the season
  12. scale — size or range
  13. press — newspapers
  14. roll — a cake
  15. press — to push
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. scale — in music
  18. spring — of water
  19. spring — a coil
  20. file — a document
  21. roll — a list
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. track — to keep track
  24. file — a tool

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