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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.

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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: march · field · temple · face · press · kick · rash · straw

  1. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. march — the month
  6. press — a publisher
  7. march — the month
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. face — to confront
  11. field — for sport
  12. field — a subject
  13. rash — a series
  14. rash — hasty
  15. march — music
  16. kick — in football
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. field — farmland
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. press — to push
  21. press — newspapers
  22. face — part of the head
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. face — to point toward

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