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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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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: press · face · wind · bass · court · pit · perch · pitcher

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. face — part of the head
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. wind — moving air
  7. court — of a king
  8. perch — the fish
  9. bass — low music
  10. press — newspapers
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. wind — moving air
  14. court — of law
  15. bass — the fish
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. face — to confront
  18. press — a publisher
  19. court — for sport
  20. pit — in a race
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. press — to push
  23. face — to point toward
  24. perch — for a bird

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