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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 · press · snap · field · band · suit · mouse · wake

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. suit — clothes
  5. perch — the fish
  6. band — a music group
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. press — a publisher
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. wake — a trail
  11. field — for sport
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. field — farmland
  16. suit — to fit
  17. suit — in cards
  18. band — a ring
  19. field — a subject
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. press — newspapers
  22. snap — to click
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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