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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 120 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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. tear — from crying
  4. march — the month
  5. foot — a measure
  6. press — newspapers
  7. cell — in biology
  8. press — to push
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. march — the month
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. dip — to sink
  15. press — a publisher
  16. march — music
  17. cell — a phone
  18. tear — to rip
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. tear — from crying
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. temple — side of the head

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