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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: band · perch · content · fall · rash · wave · press · kid

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. kid — to tease
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. fall — the season
  6. content — the amount
  7. press — a publisher
  8. band — a ring
  9. rash — hasty
  10. press — newspapers
  11. fall — to drop
  12. rash — a series
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. fall — to drop
  16. kid — child
  17. press — to push
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. band — a music group
  20. content — happy
  21. perch — the fish
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. content — videos and posts

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