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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: temple · press · mine · firm · kid · field · fall · nail

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. field — a subject
  3. press — newspapers
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. firm — a company
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. mine — for digging
  11. field — for sport
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. fall — to drop
  16. kid — child
  17. fall — the season
  18. press — a publisher
  19. firm — steady
  20. fall — to drop
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. press — to push
  23. field — farmland
  24. kid — to tease

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