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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
468
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 · present · season · bound · land · cold · can · shower

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. can — a tin
  3. press — newspapers
  4. press — a publisher
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. press — to push
  7. season — in sport
  8. cold — an illness
  9. bound — obliged
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. bound — certain
  12. present — a gift
  13. cold — not warm
  14. land — to come down
  15. land — ground
  16. can — to be able to
  17. present — there
  18. bound — tied together
  19. season — of the year
  20. can — a tin
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. shower — rain
  23. land — a country
  24. present — the time now

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