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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. current — electric
  4. land — to come down
  5. face — to point toward
  6. court — of law
  7. band — a ring
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. band — a music group
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. court — for sport
  13. face — to confront
  14. court — of a king
  15. land — a country
  16. land — ground
  17. current — happening now
  18. face — part of the head
  19. press — a publisher
  20. pitch — completely
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. press — to push
  24. press — newspapers

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