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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 · foot · perch · clip · bay · bulb · chest · face

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. face — to confront
  3. foot — a measure
  4. press — a publisher
  5. clip — for paper
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. chest — of your body
  8. clip — a video
  9. bulb — for light
  10. face — to point toward
  11. bulb — for light
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. press — newspapers
  14. chest — a box
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. face — part of the head
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. press — to push
  19. chest — of your body
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. clip — to cut
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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