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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 120 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 · fine · cold · foot · net · perch · bear · tear

  1. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. press — a publisher
  4. fine — all right
  5. net — for catching
  6. cold — not warm
  7. press — newspapers
  8. fine — high quality
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. bear — the animal
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. tear — from crying
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. tear — from crying
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. cold — an illness
  18. net — in sport
  19. perch — the fish
  20. press — to push
  21. bear — the animal
  22. tear — to rip
  23. net — after costs
  24. foot — a measure

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