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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. wind — moving air
  3. kid — child
  4. branch — a division
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. spell — magic
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. wind — moving air
  11. spell — a short time
  12. spell — letters
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. fall — the season
  17. press — newspapers
  18. fall — to drop
  19. kid — to tease
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. press — a publisher
  23. fall — to drop
  24. press — to push

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