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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: rash · press · shower · net · mine · bowl · chair · firm

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. rash — a series
  3. chair — a leader
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. shower — rain
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. press — a publisher
  10. press — to push
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. net — for catching
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. net — after costs
  16. net — in sport
  17. firm — steady
  18. mine — for digging
  19. shower — to wash
  20. firm — a company
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. firm — decided
  24. press — newspapers

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