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

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. bark — to shout
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. net — after costs
  5. spell — letters
  6. craft — boats
  7. rush — hurry
  8. net — in sport
  9. march — the month
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. spell — magic
  12. craft — a skill
  13. spell — a short time
  14. press — newspapers
  15. press — to push
  16. march — the month
  17. press — a publisher
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. net — for catching
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. march — music
  24. temple — side of the head

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