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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 nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. press — to push
  4. last — to go on
  5. last — finally
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. rest — a break
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. press — a publisher
  11. rest — what's left
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. craft — a skill
  15. press — newspapers
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. rash — a series
  18. bark — to shout
  19. craft — boats
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. rest — what's left
  22. last — final
  23. rash — hasty
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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