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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: bay · perch · staff · chest · press · kick

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. chest — a box
  5. chest — of your body
  6. press — newspapers
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. staff — a stick
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. staff — employees
  13. press — a publisher
  14. perch — the fish
  15. staff — employees
  16. chest — of your body
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. kick — in football

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