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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: press · content · perch · field · fall · firm · mate · vault

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. press — to push
  3. firm — a company
  4. press — a publisher
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. mate — to breed
  8. mate — a partner
  9. content — the amount
  10. field — farmland
  11. firm — steady
  12. fall — the season
  13. press — newspapers
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. vault — a safe
  16. mate — a friend
  17. fall — to drop
  18. field — a subject
  19. fall — to drop
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. perch — the fish
  22. field — for sport
  23. firm — decided
  24. content — videos and posts

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