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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: face · pass · saw · band · wax · clip · press · perch

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. face — to confront
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. clip — to cut
  5. saw — the tool
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. band — a music group
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. clip — for paper
  11. face — to point toward
  12. clip — a video
  13. wax — to grow
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. press — to push
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. band — a ring
  18. press — a publisher
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. pass — a permit
  21. saw — the tool
  22. press — newspapers
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. face — part of the head

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