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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. perch — the fish
  3. press — to push
  4. last — finally
  5. press — a publisher
  6. last — final
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. prune — to trim
  9. fall — to drop
  10. stand — to bear
  11. fall — to drop
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. press — newspapers
  14. band — a music group
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. band — a ring
  18. fall — the season
  19. drill — a practice
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. drill — army training
  23. last — to go on
  24. stand — on your feet

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