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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: cold · press · row · object · temple · vault

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. press — a publisher
  3. object — a thing
  4. row — a line
  5. object — an aim
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. press — newspapers
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. press — to push
  11. cold — not warm
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. row — to paddle
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. vault — a safe
  17. cold — an illness
  18. temple — side of the head

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