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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. press — a publisher
  5. wind — moving air
  6. lean — thin
  7. sharp — clever
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. net — in sport
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. lean — to bend
  16. press — newspapers
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. bulb — for light
  19. net — after costs
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. press — to push
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. bulb — for light
  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