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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 120 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: kid · present · perch · fan · last · fine · press · club

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. last — final
  3. kid — to tease
  4. fine — high quality
  5. press — to push
  6. club — for golf
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. fine — all right
  10. present — the time now
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. present — a gift
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. press — a publisher
  16. club — for dancing
  17. last — finally
  18. perch — the fish
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. press — newspapers
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. present — there
  23. last — to go on
  24. club — a group

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