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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: straw · press · shower · last · bound · fan · pop · field

  1. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. press — a publisher
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. last — final
  5. press — to push
  6. bound — certain
  7. pop — music
  8. last — to go on
  9. pop — to visit
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. field — for sport
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. field — farmland
  14. shower — rain
  15. bound — obliged
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. last — finally
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. bound — tied together
  21. shower — to wash
  22. field — a subject
  23. pop — soda
  24. fan — a supporter

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