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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: firm · dip · clip · temple · face · fall · field · press

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. clip — to cut
  3. clip — for paper
  4. firm — a company
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. press — a publisher
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. face — to point toward
  9. field — for sport
  10. fall — to drop
  11. firm — steady
  12. face — to confront
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. dip — to sink
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. fall — to drop
  18. press — newspapers
  19. clip — a video
  20. field — farmland
  21. fall — the season
  22. face — part of the head
  23. field — a subject
  24. press — to push

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