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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: last · press · row · craft · shower · firm · pitch · fall

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. pitch — completely
  3. craft — boats
  4. row — a line
  5. press — a publisher
  6. last — final
  7. firm — steady
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. press — to push
  11. firm — decided
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — to drop
  14. last — to go on
  15. shower — to wash
  16. press — newspapers
  17. craft — a skill
  18. row — to paddle
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. fall — the season
  21. shower — rain
  22. last — finally
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. firm — a company

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