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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: bound · ruler · wave · cold · press · row · object · perch

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. bound — certain
  3. cold — an illness
  4. row — to paddle
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. object — a thing
  8. bound — obliged
  9. row — a line
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. bound — tied together
  13. perch — the fish
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. cold — not warm
  18. object — an aim
  19. press — newspapers
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. press — a publisher
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. object — to protest

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