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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: shower · mouse · capital · race · saw · press · pound · present

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. race — humankind
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. press — newspapers
  7. saw — the tool
  8. pound — a weight
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. shower — to wash
  11. capital — a city
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. present — a gift
  14. press — to push
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. race — a contest
  17. press — a publisher
  18. saw — the tool
  19. capital — money
  20. race — the arms race
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. present — the time now
  23. present — there
  24. capital — a big letter

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