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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 · rest · chest · court · land · fall · pop · perch

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. perch — the fish
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. press — a publisher
  6. pop — to visit
  7. pop — music
  8. rest — a break
  9. pop — soda
  10. court — of a king
  11. land — a country
  12. chest — of your body
  13. press — to push
  14. fall — the season
  15. court — for sport
  16. land — to come down
  17. chest — a box
  18. press — newspapers
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fall — to drop
  21. rest — what's left
  22. court — of law
  23. land — ground
  24. chest — of your body

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