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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: drill · press · mine · cold · temple · racket

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. drill — army training
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. press — a publisher
  5. press — newspapers
  6. drill — the tool
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. press — to push
  9. cold — not warm
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. cold — an illness
  14. drill — a practice
  15. mine — for digging
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. mine — an explosive

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