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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 · date · tear · can · press · game · stem · pitch

  1. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. game — wild animals
  3. shower — rain
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. stem — to come from
  7. press — a publisher
  8. press — newspapers
  9. tear — from crying
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. tear — from crying
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. shower — to wash
  18. tear — to rip
  19. game — a match
  20. date — the fruit
  21. can — to be able to
  22. can — a tin
  23. press — to push
  24. pitch — completely

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