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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. wind — moving air
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. press — newspapers
  5. band — a music group
  6. press — a publisher
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. press — to push
  11. bark — to shout
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. band — a ring
  17. root — of a plant
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. root — the cause
  22. fine — high quality
  23. fine — all right
  24. root — of a word

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