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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: press · mouse · perch · cold · drill · ruler

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. drill — the tool
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. press — to push
  10. press — a publisher
  11. perch — the fish
  12. press — newspapers
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. drill — a practice
  16. drill — army training
  17. cold — an illness
  18. ruler — a monarch

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