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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. press — a publisher
  3. perch — the fish
  4. march — the month
  5. band — a music group
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. press — newspapers
  12. file — a line of people
  13. file — a document
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. march — the month
  17. stem — to come from
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. file — a tool
  20. march — music
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. band — a ring
  24. press — to push

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