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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: mine · file · wind · temple · kick · press

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. press — a publisher
  4. file — a line of people
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — moving air
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. file — a document
  12. press — to push
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. file — a tool
  16. mine — for digging
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. press — newspapers

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