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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: straw · press · bat · perch · pitcher · file · tear · row

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. tear — to rip
  3. tear — from crying
  4. bat — the animal
  5. row — a line
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. press — a publisher
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. file — a line of people
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. tear — from crying
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. perch — the fish
  18. press — to push
  19. file — a tool
  20. row — to paddle
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. file — a document
  23. press — newspapers
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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