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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 · tear · nail · bowl · cabinet · band · ground · press

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. press — a publisher
  3. ground — crushed
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. press — to push
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. ground — a position
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. perch — the fish
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. band — a music group
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. band — a ring
  19. tear — from crying
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. press — newspapers
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. tear — to rip
  24. ground — the earth

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