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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 120 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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. shower — to wash
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. band — a music group
  11. press — newspapers
  12. band — a ring
  13. land — to come down
  14. press — a publisher
  15. land — a country
  16. lie — to recline
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. land — ground
  21. press — to push
  22. shower — rain
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. wake — a trail

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