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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: coach · press · tear · bark · perch · ground · cap · lie

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. ground — a position
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. perch — the fish
  6. cap — a lid
  7. cap — a hat
  8. tear — from crying
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bark — to shout
  12. ground — crushed
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. press — a publisher
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. press — newspapers
  17. tear — from crying
  18. ground — the earth
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. lie — to recline
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. cap — of ice
  24. tear — to rip

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