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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: bear · shower · press · current · scale · bat · tear · bound

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. current — of water
  4. scale — size or range
  5. shower — rain
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bear — the animal
  8. press — to push
  9. current — happening now
  10. tear — from crying
  11. shower — to wash
  12. bear — the animal
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. scale — in music
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. current — electric
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bat — the animal
  20. press — newspapers
  21. bound — tied together
  22. tear — to rip
  23. bound — obliged
  24. press — a publisher

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