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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bowl · press · straw · perch · content · hand · nail · march

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. content — the amount
  6. press — a publisher
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. content — happy
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. march — music
  12. march — the month
  13. press — to push
  14. perch — the fish
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. march — the month
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. press — newspapers
  23. hand — help
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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