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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: fork · perch · clip · straw · rush · fine · field · press

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. fork — in a road
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. press — a publisher
  5. rush — hurry
  6. fine — high quality
  7. clip — a video
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. fine — all right
  11. perch — the fish
  12. field — farmland
  13. press — newspapers
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. clip — for paper
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. field — a subject
  18. press — to push
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. field — for sport
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. straw — a straw man

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