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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: wind · press · mine · present · temple · court · stem · land

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. court — of a king
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. press — newspapers
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. stem — to come from
  9. mine — for digging
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. press — to push
  12. wind — moving air
  13. press — a publisher
  14. court — for sport
  15. land — ground
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. court — of law
  18. present — there
  19. present — a gift
  20. present — the time now
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. wind — moving air
  23. land — to come down
  24. land — a country

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