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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: perch · tear · wound · march · chip · press

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. tear — from crying
  4. wound — an injury
  5. march — music
  6. press — newspapers
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. march — the month
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. chip — to eat
  11. perch — the fish
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. tear — to rip
  14. press — a publisher
  15. press — to push
  16. chip — for betting
  17. tear — from crying
  18. march — the month

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