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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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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: bulb · roll · race · chest · bank · wind · perch · press

  1. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. roll — a list
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bulb — for light
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. wind — moving air
  7. chest — a box
  8. bank — for money
  9. bulb — for light
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. race — a contest
  13. bank — of a river
  14. press — to push
  15. race — humankind
  16. perch — the fish
  17. bank — for money
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. chest — of your body
  20. roll — a cake
  21. race — the arms race
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. press — a publisher
  24. press — newspapers

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