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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 120 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: press · perch · bowl · pass · tube · file · face · tear

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. face — part of the head
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. tear — to rip
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tube — a container
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. tube — the underground
  10. file — a line of people
  11. face — to point toward
  12. face — to confront
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. tear — from crying
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. file — a document
  18. file — a tool
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. press — a publisher
  21. perch — the fish
  22. press — newspapers
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. pass — a permit

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