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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 120 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 · racket · pitcher · deal · press · chest · tube · shower

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. shower — to wash
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. press — a publisher
  6. shower — rain
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — of your body
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. press — newspapers
  14. tube — the underground
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. deal — to handle
  19. wound — an injury
  20. tube — a container
  21. wound — an injury
  22. press — to push
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. chest — a box

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