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

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. perch — the fish
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. chest — of your body
  6. kid — child
  7. press — newspapers
  8. bear — the animal
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — a box
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. kid — to tease
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cold — an illness
  16. board — to get on
  17. file — a tool
  18. file — a line of people
  19. bear — the animal
  20. press — a publisher
  21. press — to push
  22. board — a committee
  23. file — a document
  24. perch — for a bird

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