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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: shower · press · pound · degree · net · file · ground · pass

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. shower — rain
  3. press — to push
  4. file — a tool
  5. press — newspapers
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. ground — crushed
  8. shower — to wash
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. net — for catching
  11. pass — a permit
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. ground — a position
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. degree — temperature
  16. press — a publisher
  17. file — a document
  18. file — a line of people
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. net — in sport
  21. degree — from a university
  22. ground — the earth
  23. degree — an amount
  24. pound — a weight

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