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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: press · nail · staff · kid · perch · mine · clip · face

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. face — to point toward
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. face — to confront
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. kid — to tease
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. press — a publisher
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. clip — a video
  12. staff — employees
  13. staff — employees
  14. clip — to cut
  15. face — part of the head
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. perch — the fish
  18. staff — a stick
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. press — newspapers
  21. clip — for paper
  22. press — to push
  23. mine — for digging
  24. kid — child

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