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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: mouse · row · shower · press · wake · race · track · perch

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. press — a publisher
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. row — to paddle
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. race — a contest
  8. shower — to wash
  9. track — a path
  10. wake — a trail
  11. race — humankind
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. track — a song
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. race — the arms race
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. track — to keep track
  18. perch — the fish
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. row — a line
  21. shower — rain
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. press — newspapers
  24. wake — before a funeral

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