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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  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. press — a publisher
  2. mug — a face
  3. mug — a cup
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. press — to push
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. field — a subject
  11. wind — moving air
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. saw — the tool
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. field — farmland
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. mug — to rob
  20. saw — the tool
  21. field — for sport
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. bat — the animal
  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