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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: club · last · leaves · wind · deal · press · cue · perch

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. press — newspapers
  4. wind — moving air
  5. club — for golf
  6. press — to push
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. last — to go on
  9. cue — a hint
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. cue — for pool
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. last — finally
  15. press — a publisher
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. deal — to handle
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. last — final
  22. club — for dancing
  23. club — a group
  24. cue — a signal

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