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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. mug — to rob
  4. rest — what's left
  5. rest — what's left
  6. spring — the season
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. content — the amount
  11. press — to push
  12. mug — a face
  13. mug — a cup
  14. press — a publisher
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. rest — a break
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. spring — of water
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. spring — a coil
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. press — newspapers
  23. content — happy
  24. pitcher — a jug

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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