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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: bat · wound · pitch · perch · can · press · clip · lie

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. can — to be able to
  3. wound — an injury
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. clip — to cut
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bat — the animal
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. perch — the fish
  11. clip — a video
  12. press — a publisher
  13. pitch — completely
  14. can — a tin
  15. lie — to recline
  16. can — a tin
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. press — newspapers
  19. clip — for paper
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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