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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: perch · press · clip · kid · shower · hand · dip · ground

  1. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  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. press — newspapers
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. dip — to sink
  5. ground — a position
  6. shower — rain
  7. press — to push
  8. kid — to tease
  9. kid — child
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. hand — help
  12. clip — to cut
  13. hand — in cards
  14. clip — a video
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. clip — for paper
  17. ground — crushed
  18. press — a publisher
  19. shower — to wash
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. ground — the earth
  23. perch — for a bird
  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