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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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Word bank
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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: cap · cold · vault · temple · tear · press

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. cap — a lid
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. tear — from crying
  5. cold — not warm
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. press — to push
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cap — of ice
  10. vault — a safe
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. tear — to rip
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. tear — from crying
  16. press — newspapers
  17. press — a publisher
  18. cap — a hat

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