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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: wound · rule · prune · pitch · chest · season · press · shower

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. pitch — completely
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. rule — government
  8. prune — to trim
  9. wound — an injury
  10. chest — of your body
  11. shower — rain
  12. press — to push
  13. wound — an injury
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. prune — to trim
  16. rule — a law
  17. press — newspapers
  18. chest — a box
  19. season — of the year
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. shower — to wash
  22. press — a publisher
  23. season — in sport
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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