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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 · march · wind · perch · straw · cue

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  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. press — to push
  2. cue — a signal
  3. cue — for pool
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. march — the month
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. press — a publisher
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. march — the month
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. perch — the fish
  14. march — music
  15. wind — moving air
  16. cue — a hint
  17. wind — moving air
  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