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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: press · mine · mug · kid · track · pitcher · temple · shower

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. press — a publisher
  3. shower — to wash
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. kid — child
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. mug — a face
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. track — to keep track
  14. press — to push
  15. press — newspapers
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. shower — rain
  18. mug — to rob
  19. kid — to tease
  20. track — a song
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. mug — a cup
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. mine — for digging

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