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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 116 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: rest · press · perch · wound · straw · present · object · craft

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. object — an aim
  3. wound — an injury
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. rest — a break
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. present — there
  9. press — a publisher
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. press — to push
  12. rest — what's left
  13. present — a gift
  14. press — newspapers
  15. perch — the fish
  16. craft — boats
  17. craft — a skill
  18. rest — what's left
  19. object — a thing
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. present — the time now
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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