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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: lie · bore · net · squash · press · temple · wind · snap

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. lie — to recline
  3. net — after costs
  4. wind — moving air
  5. press — to push
  6. squash — the sport
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. bore — to tire
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. press — a publisher
  16. net — for catching
  17. squash — to crush
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. press — newspapers
  21. bore — to drill
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. wind — moving air
  24. net — in sport

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