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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: bat · lie · tube · bore · press · perch · chest · calf

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  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. tube — a container
  3. chest — of your body
  4. press — to push
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. tube — the underground
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. bat — the animal
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. chest — of your body
  13. lie — to recline
  14. press — newspapers
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. bore — to tire
  17. perch — the fish
  18. bore — to drill
  19. chest — a box
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. calf — a young animal
  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