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

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. field — a subject
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. press — to push
  6. press — a publisher
  7. field — farmland
  8. press — newspapers
  9. stock — shares
  10. chest — a box
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. pass — a permit
  13. chest — of your body
  14. kick — in football
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. swing — in golf
  18. stock — goods
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. swing — music
  21. swing — to play on
  22. chest — of your body
  23. field — for sport
  24. pass — to succeed

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