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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.

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: clip · bark · ground · mark · temple · mine · fall · press

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. fall — to drop
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. mark — a grade
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. mark — a trace
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. clip — to cut
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. ground — the earth
  11. press — newspapers
  12. fall — the season
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. clip — for paper
  15. ground — a position
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. fall — to drop
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. clip — a video
  20. press — a publisher
  21. ground — crushed
  22. mine — for digging
  23. bark — to shout
  24. mine — belonging to me

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