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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 · content · rash · present · last · temple · drill · scale

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. last — final
  3. scale — in music
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. present — a gift
  6. drill — a practice
  7. rash — hasty
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. scale — size or range
  10. last — finally
  11. press — a publisher
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. press — to push
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. present — the time now
  16. content — the amount
  17. last — to go on
  18. rash — a series
  19. present — there
  20. drill — army training
  21. press — newspapers
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. drill — the tool

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