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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: wind · perch · track · season · ground · lean · press · wake

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  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. wind — moving air
  2. track — to keep track
  3. lean — to bend
  4. season — of the year
  5. wake — a trail
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. track — a song
  8. ground — a position
  9. wind — moving air
  10. track — a path
  11. season — in sport
  12. ground — the earth
  13. press — newspapers
  14. press — a publisher
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. perch — the fish
  18. ground — crushed
  19. lean — thin
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. press — to push
  23. season — to add flavour
  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