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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. rest — a break
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. content — happy
  5. press — to push
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. rest — what's left
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. object — a thing
  11. bass — low music
  12. object — an aim
  13. file — a tool
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. object — to protest
  16. file — a line of people
  17. rest — what's left
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. bass — the fish
  20. file — a document
  21. press — a publisher
  22. date — the fruit
  23. press — newspapers
  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