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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: bark · cap · temple · fine · press · row · last · season

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. press — to push
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. press — a publisher
  8. last — finally
  9. fine — all right
  10. cap — a hat
  11. press — newspapers
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. last — final
  14. cap — a lid
  15. row — to paddle
  16. season — of the year
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. season — in sport
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. row — a line
  21. last — to go on
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. cap — of ice
  24. bark — to shout

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