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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. kid — child
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. spell — a short time
  6. season — in sport
  7. degree — from a university
  8. degree — temperature
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. press — to push
  11. kid — to tease
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. season — of the year
  15. pit — in a race
  16. row — to paddle
  17. spell — letters
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. press — newspapers
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. degree — an amount
  22. spell — magic
  23. row — a line
  24. pit — a hole

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