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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.

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: bat · press · bay · rash · mine · temple · march · spell

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. march — the month
  4. mine — for digging
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. rash — a series
  7. press — newspapers
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. march — music
  13. spell — magic
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. spell — letters
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. spell — a short time
  20. march — the month
  21. press — to push
  22. bat — the animal
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. rash — hasty

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