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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: fall · season · game · rash · clip · bear · perch · press

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. perch — the fish
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. game — a match
  5. clip — for paper
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. clip — to cut
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fall — the season
  11. rash — a series
  12. press — to push
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. press — newspapers
  15. rash — hasty
  16. game — wild animals
  17. clip — a video
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. fall — to drop
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bear — the animal
  22. season — in sport
  23. season — of the year
  24. perch — for a bird

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