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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. last — final
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. cold — not warm
  7. press — a publisher
  8. last — to go on
  9. ground — the earth
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. press — newspapers
  14. band — a music group
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. last — finally
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. kid — child
  19. cold — an illness
  20. kid — to tease
  21. ground — crushed
  22. band — a ring
  23. press — to push
  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