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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. wind — moving air
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. present — there
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. last — final
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. present — a gift
  11. foot — a measure
  12. present — the time now
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. press — a publisher
  15. last — to go on
  16. wind — moving air
  17. press — newspapers
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. last — finally

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