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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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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: stick · shower · wind · press · snap · deal · march · ground

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. press — to push
  4. deal — to handle
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. shower — to wash
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. march — the month
  10. wind — moving air
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. march — music
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. ground — crushed
  15. snap — to click
  16. shower — rain
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. press — a publisher
  19. press — newspapers
  20. ground — the earth
  21. ground — a position
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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