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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 president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. squash — to crush
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. rest — what's left
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. rest — what's left
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. fine — all right
  12. press — newspapers
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. cell — a phone
  15. press — to push
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. fine — high quality
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. squash — the sport
  22. cell — in biology
  23. press — a publisher
  24. rest — a break

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