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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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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: temple · kick · press · wave · saw · cell · mine · trunk

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. mine — for digging
  3. cell — a phone
  4. press — a publisher
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. press — newspapers
  8. kick — in football
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. cell — in biology
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. saw — the tool
  20. press — to push
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. saw — the tool
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. temple — a place of worship

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