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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. stand — to bear
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. key — in music
  5. spell — a short time
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. sharp — clever
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. key — the most important part
  12. spell — letters
  13. key — for a lock
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. mine — for digging
  17. spell — magic
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. dip — to sink
  21. press — a publisher
  22. press — to push
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. press — newspapers

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