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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 120 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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. stem — to come from
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. press — a publisher
  9. fall — to drop
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. fall — to drop
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. press — to push
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. vault — a safe
  18. fall — the season
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. press — newspapers
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. temple — a place of worship

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