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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 like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. band — a ring
  4. rash — hasty
  5. rush — hurry
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. press — to push
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. press — a publisher
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. press — newspapers
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. chest — a box
  19. rash — a series
  20. chest — of your body
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. chest — of your body
  23. bark — to shout
  24. band — a music group

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