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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: face · perch · bowl · chest · press · pound · mug · kid

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. press — a publisher
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. chest — of your body
  6. press — newspapers
  7. kid — to tease
  8. face — part of the head
  9. face — to confront
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. chest — of your body
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. mug — to rob
  16. face — to point toward
  17. mug — a face
  18. pound — a weight
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. press — to push
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. mug — a cup
  23. perch — the fish
  24. chest — a box

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