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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: face · ruler · land · shower · stem · press · spell · tube

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. tube — the underground
  3. land — a country
  4. shower — rain
  5. land — to come down
  6. press — to push
  7. spell — letters
  8. face — to confront
  9. shower — to wash
  10. tube — a container
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. press — newspapers
  14. face — to point toward
  15. spell — a short time
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. land — ground
  20. stem — to come from
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. face — part of the head
  23. spell — magic
  24. tube — in a tire

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