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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: nail · drill · press · pound · rush · tube · wound · perch

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  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. perch — for a bird
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. drill — army training
  6. tube — the underground
  7. wound — an injury
  8. press — to push
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. wound — an injury
  15. rush — hurry
  16. perch — the fish
  17. press — newspapers
  18. drill — a practice
  19. drill — the tool
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. pound — a weight
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. tube — a container
  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