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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: nail · trunk · patient · press · temple · wound · mine · ground

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. wound — an injury
  8. ground — the earth
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. wound — an injury
  11. press — to push
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. press — a publisher
  16. ground — a position
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. ground — crushed
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. press — newspapers
  23. mine — for digging
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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