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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. squash — the sport
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. face — part of the head
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. march — music
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. kid — child
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. press — a publisher
  13. bat — the animal
  14. press — to push
  15. face — to point toward
  16. squash — to crush
  17. press — newspapers
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. march — the month
  20. face — to confront
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. kid — to tease

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