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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: game · snap · shower · bowl · mine · present · press · pop

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. snap — to click
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. press — to push
  5. shower — rain
  6. pop — soda
  7. mine — for digging
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. present — the time now
  10. press — newspapers
  11. shower — to wash
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. present — there
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. press — a publisher
  18. game — wild animals
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. present — a gift
  23. pop — to visit
  24. game — a match

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