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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. press — a publisher
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. present — a gift
  10. season — in sport
  11. present — the time now
  12. last — final
  13. track — a path
  14. saw — the tool
  15. track — to keep track
  16. saw — the tool
  17. season — of the year
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. track — a song
  20. press — to push
  21. press — newspapers
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. last — finally
  24. present — there

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