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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: race · patient · wind · temple · press · toast

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. press — a publisher
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. press — to push
  7. race — a contest
  8. wind — moving air
  9. toast — bread
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. wind — moving air
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. race — the arms race
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. press — newspapers
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. race — humankind

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