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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: mate · press · fine · mine · fan · drill · branch · temple

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. press — to push
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. fine — all right
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. drill — army training
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. branch — a division
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. mate — to breed
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. mate — a partner
  16. fine — high quality
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. drill — a practice
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. mate — a friend
  21. drill — the tool
  22. mine — for digging
  23. press — a publisher
  24. press — newspapers

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