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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 · band · shower · craft · kick · object · sharp · pitcher

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  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. kick — in football
  2. press — to push
  3. craft — boats
  4. band — a music group
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. shower — rain
  8. object — to protest
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. craft — a skill
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. press — a publisher
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. band — a ring
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. object — a thing
  19. shower — to wash
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. sharp — clever
  22. object — an aim
  23. press — newspapers
  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