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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.

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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: mine · mate · temple · press · board · ground · wind · prune

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. ground — the earth
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. wind — moving air
  5. ground — a position
  6. mate — a partner
  7. ground — crushed
  8. mate — a friend
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. mate — to breed
  11. board — a committee
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. press — a publisher
  14. mine — for digging
  15. press — to push
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. press — newspapers
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. prune — to trim
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. wind — moving air
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. prune — to trim

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