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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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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: perch · wind · calf · tear · march · press · last · cap

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. tear — from crying
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. perch — the fish
  5. wind — moving air
  6. press — a publisher
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. cap — a lid
  10. cap — of ice
  11. wind — moving air
  12. cap — a hat
  13. tear — from crying
  14. last — finally
  15. press — newspapers
  16. march — the month
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. last — final
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. march — the month
  22. march — music
  23. press — to push
  24. last — to go on

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