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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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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: bat · press · bark · roll · pass · shower · land · wake

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. land — to come down
  5. press — to push
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. land — ground
  8. roll — a cake
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. wake — a trail
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. press — newspapers
  15. roll — a list
  16. land — a country
  17. press — a publisher
  18. shower — rain
  19. pass — a permit
  20. bark — to shout
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. bat — the animal
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. pass — to succeed

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