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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · cold · snap · pop · charge · net · bank · shower

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. charge — a price
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — not warm
  6. snap — to click
  7. pop — soda
  8. net — for catching
  9. charge — in control
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. press — to push
  12. shower — rain
  13. press — newspapers
  14. shower — to wash
  15. bank — for money
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. pop — to visit
  19. net — after costs
  20. charge — electricity
  21. net — in sport
  22. pop — music
  23. bank — for money
  24. bank — of a river

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