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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: fan · rule · shower · clip · march · press · pound · pit

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. shower — to wash
  3. press — newspapers
  4. march — the month
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. pit — in a race
  7. march — music
  8. clip — to cut
  9. march — the month
  10. rule — a law
  11. clip — for paper
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. shower — rain
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. pit — a hole
  17. press — to push
  18. clip — a video
  19. press — a publisher
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. pound — a weight
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. rule — government
  24. fan — a supporter

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