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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 120 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. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. press — newspapers
  3. mine — for digging
  4. drill — army training
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. prune — to trim
  10. drill — a practice
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. pit — a hole
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. prune — to trim
  16. branch — a division
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. press — a publisher
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. pit — in a race
  21. drill — the tool
  22. press — to push
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. patient — a sick person

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