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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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. press — to push
  3. chair — a leader
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. press — a publisher
  7. press — newspapers
  8. fall — to drop
  9. tear — to rip
  10. fall — the season
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. fall — to drop
  13. pit — in a race
  14. pit — a hole
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. tear — from crying
  20. plane — a tool
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. tear — from crying

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