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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. face — to confront
  5. rest — what's left
  6. press — a publisher
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. cap — a lid
  9. degree — temperature
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. degree — an amount
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. bat — the animal
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. press — to push
  18. cap — of ice
  19. rest — a break
  20. cap — a hat
  21. face — to point toward
  22. press — newspapers
  23. degree — from a university
  24. face — part of the head

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