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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 · march · safe · wake · stand · shower · tear · cold

  1. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. shower — to wash
  4. march — the month
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. cold — not warm
  8. stand — to bear
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. shower — rain
  12. press — a publisher
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. press — newspapers
  15. tear — from crying
  16. cold — an illness
  17. tear — from crying
  18. wake — a trail
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. tear — to rip
  21. press — to push
  22. march — music
  23. march — the month
  24. cold — the Cold War

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