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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. press — newspapers
  3. bear — the animal
  4. field — for sport
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. press — to push
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. press — a publisher
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. field — farmland
  13. field — a subject
  14. bear — the animal
  15. staff — employees
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. staff — a stick

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