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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 · press · bulb · roll · kick · tear · date · fall

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. press — to push
  3. kick — in football
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. fall — to drop
  7. tear — from crying
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. roll — a list
  10. perch — the fish
  11. fall — the season
  12. tear — from crying
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. date — the fruit
  16. press — newspapers
  17. tear — to rip
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. bulb — for light
  20. press — a publisher
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. bulb — for light
  23. roll — a cake
  24. date — on the calendar

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