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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · cabinet · stick · clip · trunk · temple · last · spring

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. press — newspapers
  4. spring — of water
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. spring — a coil
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. press — a publisher
  10. clip — a video
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. last — finally
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. clip — to cut
  18. last — to go on
  19. clip — for paper
  20. spring — the season
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. last — final
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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