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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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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: fall · perch · hand · press · mate · season · lean · ground

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. mate — a friend
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. press — to push
  5. mate — to breed
  6. season — of the year
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. perch — the fish
  9. ground — the earth
  10. season — in sport
  11. mate — a partner
  12. press — newspapers
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. fall — the season
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. ground — crushed
  17. hand — in cards
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fall — to drop
  20. hand — help
  21. ground — a position
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. lean — thin
  24. press — a publisher

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