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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: temple · chest · pass · stock · kick · press

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. chest — of your body
  3. kick — in football
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. press — a publisher
  6. chest — a box
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. chest — of your body
  10. stock — shares
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. press — to push
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. press — newspapers
  16. stock — goods
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. pass — a permit

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