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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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. board — to get on
  3. press — a publisher
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. shower — to wash
  7. last — finally
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. firm — a company
  10. press — newspapers
  11. last — to go on
  12. board — a committee
  13. clip — to cut
  14. firm — decided
  15. last — final
  16. press — to push
  17. shower — rain
  18. capital — a city
  19. clip — for paper
  20. capital — money
  21. firm — steady
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. clip — a video
  24. temple — a place of worship

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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