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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: perch · kick · capital · face · season · pitch · present · press

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. face — to confront
  5. press — to push
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. perch — the fish
  8. capital — money
  9. season — in sport
  10. face — to point toward
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. capital — a city
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. season — of the year
  15. press — a publisher
  16. face — part of the head
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. pitch — completely
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. present — there
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. present — a gift
  23. press — newspapers
  24. kick — in football

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