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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: perch · staff · press · hide · race · key · wind · pitch

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. key — the most important part
  3. staff — a stick
  4. pitch — completely
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. wind — moving air
  7. race — the arms race
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. press — a publisher
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. key — in music
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. key — for a lock
  16. staff — employees
  17. wind — moving air
  18. perch — the fish
  19. press — to push
  20. staff — employees
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. press — newspapers
  23. race — humankind
  24. race — a contest

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