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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 nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. net — for catching
  4. press — newspapers
  5. last — finally
  6. press — a publisher
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. saw — the tool
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. capital — a city
  12. press — to push
  13. capital — money
  14. pitch — completely
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. net — after costs
  17. prune — to trim
  18. net — in sport
  19. last — final
  20. saw — the tool
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. last — to go on
  23. prune — to trim
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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