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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: press · wave · prune · spring · firm · current · shower · chest

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. press — a publisher
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. chest — of your body
  5. press — to push
  6. spring — of water
  7. firm — decided
  8. current — electric
  9. firm — steady
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. shower — to wash
  15. press — newspapers
  16. prune — to trim
  17. chest — a box
  18. chest — of your body
  19. firm — a company
  20. spring — the season
  21. spring — a coil
  22. shower — rain
  23. current — happening now
  24. prune — to trim

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