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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: temple · chest · race · spell · hand · land · press · patient

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. press — a publisher
  4. press — newspapers
  5. land — a country
  6. spell — letters
  7. race — the arms race
  8. spell — a short time
  9. press — to push
  10. race — humankind
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. chest — of your body
  13. spell — magic
  14. land — to come down
  15. race — a contest
  16. chest — a box
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. land — ground
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. hand — in cards
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. hand — help
  24. hand — part of the body

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