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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 120 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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: file · court · press · temple · present · sharp · march · perch

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. sharp — clever
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. present — there
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. press — to push
  9. file — a tool
  10. court — of law
  11. file — a document
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. present — a gift
  14. court — of a king
  15. court — for sport
  16. perch — the fish
  17. press — newspapers
  18. march — the month
  19. march — music
  20. march — the month
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. file — a line of people
  23. present — the time now
  24. press — a publisher

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