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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: wound · game · shower · net · stand · press · fall · land

  1. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. game — a match
  4. fall — the season
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. net — after costs
  9. game — wild animals
  10. wound — an injury
  11. fall — to drop
  12. land — ground
  13. net — in sport
  14. fall — to drop
  15. net — for catching
  16. press — to push
  17. land — to come down
  18. land — a country
  19. press — newspapers
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. shower — to wash
  22. shower — rain
  23. press — a publisher
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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