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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: scale · press · row · wind · perch · pass · wave · capital

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. pass — a permit
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. capital — money
  5. capital — a city
  6. wind — moving air
  7. press — a publisher
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. press — to push
  10. scale — in music
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. press — newspapers
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. row — to paddle
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. scale — size or range
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. wind — moving air
  22. row — a line
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. perch — the fish

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