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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. kid — child
  4. mine — for digging
  5. mug — to rob
  6. press — a publisher
  7. drill — a practice
  8. mug — a cup
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. bulb — for light
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. kid — to tease
  14. press — newspapers
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. press — to push
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. bulb — for light
  19. mug — a face
  20. drill — the tool
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. capital — money
  23. drill — army training
  24. capital — a city

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