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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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. object — an aim
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. toast — bread
  7. press — to push
  8. hand — in cards
  9. press — a publisher
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. object — to protest
  12. field — a subject
  13. field — for sport
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. object — a thing
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. net — for catching
  20. press — newspapers
  21. field — farmland
  22. hand — help
  23. net — after costs
  24. net — in sport

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