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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. spring — a coil
  3. spring — of water
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. staff — employees
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. present — a gift
  10. present — the time now
  11. staff — employees
  12. present — there
  13. cap — a lid
  14. staff — a stick
  15. cap — of ice
  16. kid — to tease
  17. press — a publisher
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. rule — a law
  20. rule — government
  21. spring — the season
  22. cap — a hat
  23. press — newspapers
  24. press — to push

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