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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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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: cell · drill · content · temple · stick · press · cold · land

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. cell — a phone
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. content — the amount
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. cold — an illness
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. press — a publisher
  10. land — a country
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. press — newspapers
  13. land — to come down
  14. cell — in biology
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. content — happy
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. land — ground
  20. drill — the tool
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. drill — army training
  23. drill — a practice
  24. cold — not warm

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