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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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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. tear — from crying
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. tear — to rip
  5. press — newspapers
  6. chest — of your body
  7. roll — a list
  8. roll — a cake
  9. press — to push
  10. lean — to bend
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. row — to paddle
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. perch — the fish
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. chest — a box
  17. row — a line
  18. track — to keep track
  19. lean — thin
  20. press — a publisher
  21. chest — of your body
  22. tear — from crying
  23. track — a song
  24. track — a path

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