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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: press · ground · stem · pound · band · current · shower · temple

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. ground — the earth
  6. press — newspapers
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. ground — crushed
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. band — a music group
  12. press — a publisher
  13. shower — rain
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. pound — a weight
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. current — happening now
  18. band — a ring
  19. current — of water
  20. current — electric
  21. ground — a position
  22. shower — to wash
  23. stem — to come from
  24. band — a rubber band

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