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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. tube — a container
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. rash — a series
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. press — newspapers
  10. chest — of your body
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. chest — of your body
  14. file — a line of people
  15. file — a document
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. tube — the underground
  18. rule — government
  19. chest — a box
  20. press — to push
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. rule — a law
  23. press — a publisher
  24. file — a tool

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