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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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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 · shower · court · wind · bear · chair · hide · march

  1. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. bear — the animal
  4. shower — to wash
  5. press — a publisher
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. march — music
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. wind — moving air
  11. chair — a leader
  12. court — for sport
  13. wind — moving air
  14. shower — rain
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. press — to push
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. court — of a king
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. court — of law
  22. bear — the animal
  23. march — the month
  24. march — the month

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