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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. fall — the season
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. shower — to wash
  7. cell — a phone
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. shower — rain
  11. mine — for digging
  12. press — newspapers
  13. press — to push
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. press — a publisher
  18. fall — to drop
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. fall — to drop
  24. cell — in biology

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