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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: race · hide · perch · wind · press · date

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. race — a contest
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. wind — moving air
  7. press — to push
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. perch — the fish
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. race — humankind
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. wind — moving air
  14. press — a publisher
  15. race — the arms race
  16. press — newspapers
  17. date — the fruit
  18. wind — to turn a key

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