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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: press · fall · perch · clip · pound · present

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  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. fall — to drop
  2. clip — for paper
  3. clip — a video
  4. perch — the fish
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. fall — the season
  8. fall — to drop
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. present — the time now
  11. press — to push
  12. present — there
  13. pound — a weight
  14. clip — to cut
  15. present — a gift
  16. press — a publisher
  17. pound — to hit hard
  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