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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: wound · pass · press · land · calf · temple · last · hand

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. hand — help
  4. pass — a permit
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. land — a country
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. press — newspapers
  10. last — final
  11. wound — an injury
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. press — to push
  14. press — a publisher
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. last — to go on
  17. land — to come down
  18. land — ground
  19. last — finally
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. hand — in cards
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. calf — a young animal

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