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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. When was this ________________ built?
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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. press — a publisher
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. lie — to recline
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. snap — to click
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. roll — a list
  14. tear — from crying
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. tear — from crying
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. tear — to rip
  20. roll — a cake
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. press — newspapers
  23. press — to push
  24. cabinet — ministers

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