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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. bank — for money
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. season — of the year
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. file — a document
  9. season — in sport
  10. rest — what's left
  11. bank — of a river
  12. bank — for money
  13. rest — a break
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. file — a tool
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. press — newspapers
  18. file — a line of people
  19. press — to push
  20. mark — a grade
  21. mark — a trace
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. rest — what's left
  24. press — a publisher

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