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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  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. can — a tin
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. saw — the tool
  4. can — to be able to
  5. can — a tin
  6. hand — in cards
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. last — final
  10. last — finally
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. saw — the tool
  13. wound — an injury
  14. hand — help
  15. press — newspapers
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. press — to push
  19. press — a publisher
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. last — to go on
  22. wound — an injury
  23. hand — part of the body
  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