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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: firm · row · ball · rest · wound · press · trunk · shower

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. ball — a dance
  4. firm — steady
  5. rest — what's left
  6. rest — a break
  7. firm — a company
  8. press — a publisher
  9. wound — an injury
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. firm — decided
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. row — to paddle
  14. rest — what's left
  15. wound — an injury
  16. shower — rain
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. press — newspapers
  20. shower — to wash
  21. row — a line
  22. ball — a great time
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. ball — a round shape

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