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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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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: vault · coach · ground · kick · mine · temple · press · pound

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. press — to push
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. press — a publisher
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. kick — in football
  13. ground — crushed
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. press — newspapers
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. ground — a position
  19. mine — for digging
  20. ground — the earth
  21. pound — a weight
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. vault — a safe

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