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

Word bank: rule · spring · wind · perch · press · stick

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. spring — of water
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. rule — a law
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. spring — a coil
  9. wind — moving air
  10. press — newspapers
  11. perch — the fish
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. press — to push
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. wind — moving air
  16. spring — the season
  17. rule — government
  18. stick — to attach or keep to

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