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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: scale · tear · cold · perch · firm · press

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. scale — in music
  3. firm — steady
  4. press — a publisher
  5. tear — to rip
  6. perch — the fish
  7. firm — a company
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — from crying
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. cold — not warm
  15. scale — size or range
  16. firm — decided
  17. press — to push
  18. press — newspapers

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