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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. press — to push
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. kid — to tease
  6. press — newspapers
  7. race — humankind
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. rest — a break
  10. bulb — for light
  11. rule — government
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. rule — a law
  14. kid — child
  15. degree — an amount
  16. rest — what's left
  17. race — a contest
  18. degree — temperature
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. rest — what's left
  21. race — the arms race
  22. bulb — for light
  23. degree — from a university
  24. press — a publisher

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