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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. mate — a partner
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. press — to push
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. cap — a lid
  8. mate — a friend
  9. drill — a practice
  10. cap — a hat
  11. key — the most important part
  12. cap — of ice
  13. press — newspapers
  14. shower — rain
  15. press — a publisher
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. key — in music
  18. key — for a lock
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. mate — to breed
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. shower — to wash
  23. drill — the tool
  24. drill — army training

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