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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. current — happening now
  3. current — electric
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. press — to push
  6. file — a tool
  7. track — to keep track
  8. file — a line of people
  9. press — newspapers
  10. last — to go on
  11. track — a song
  12. press — a publisher
  13. net — after costs
  14. net — for catching
  15. current — of water
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. last — final
  18. last — finally
  19. track — a path
  20. mate — a friend
  21. mate — a partner
  22. net — in sport
  23. file — a document
  24. mate — to breed

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