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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 116 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: press · wind · lean · bear · trunk · cold · net · perch

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. bear — the animal
  4. net — for catching
  5. press — to push
  6. cold — an illness
  7. press — newspapers
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. bear — the animal
  10. lean — to bend
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. wind — moving air
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. net — in sport
  16. press — a publisher
  17. net — after costs
  18. cold — not warm
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. perch — the fish
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. lean — thin
  24. wind — moving air

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