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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: press · tube · tear · perch · branch · craft · wind · cap

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. tear — from crying
  4. craft — boats
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. branch — a division
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. cap — a hat
  12. perch — the fish
  13. craft — a skill
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — to rip
  16. press — a publisher
  17. press — newspapers
  18. tube — the underground
  19. cap — of ice
  20. wind — moving air
  21. cap — a lid
  22. tube — a container
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. press — to push

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