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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · safe · field · hide · wound · press · pop · temple

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. pop — to visit
  3. field — for sport
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. press — a publisher
  6. pop — music
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. press — to push
  10. chest — of your body
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. field — a subject
  13. wound — an injury
  14. pop — soda
  15. wound — an injury
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. chest — of your body
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. chest — a box
  22. field — farmland
  23. press — newspapers
  24. hide — animal skin

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