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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: clip · press · patient · stick · perch · pitcher · bank · cold

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. perch — the fish
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. cold — not warm
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. clip — to cut
  8. press — newspapers
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. cold — an illness
  13. clip — a video
  14. bank — for money
  15. press — a publisher
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. press — to push
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. clip — for paper
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. bank — for money
  24. bank — of a river

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