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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. rush — hurry
  3. press — a publisher
  4. land — a country
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. clip — a video
  7. chest — a box
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. land — ground
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. chest — of your body
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. press — to push
  14. land — to come down
  15. present — there
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. present — the time now
  18. clip — for paper
  19. chest — of your body
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. clip — to cut
  22. press — newspapers
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. present — a gift

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