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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. mate — a friend
  3. press — a publisher
  4. press — to push
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. tube — a container
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. wound — an injury
  10. spell — a short time
  11. present — a gift
  12. wound — an injury
  13. prune — to trim
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. spell — magic
  17. mate — a partner
  18. spell — letters
  19. present — the time now
  20. press — newspapers
  21. tube — the underground
  22. mate — to breed
  23. prune — to trim
  24. present — there

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