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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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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: field · mouse · ground · press · snap · date · tear · perch

  1. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. snap — to click
  4. press — a publisher
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. field — a subject
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. tear — from crying
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. date — the fruit
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. field — for sport
  14. perch — the fish
  15. press — to push
  16. field — farmland
  17. tear — to rip
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. ground — the earth
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. ground — crushed
  23. tear — from crying
  24. ground — a position

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