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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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. press — a publisher
  6. press — to push
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. clip — to cut
  10. row — a line
  11. last — to go on
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. press — newspapers
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. last — final
  16. row — to paddle
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. clip — for paper
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. last — finally
  23. clip — a video
  24. nail — on a finger

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