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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. bat — the animal
  4. press — to push
  5. present — there
  6. field — a subject
  7. press — newspapers
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. bound — certain
  13. field — farmland
  14. present — a gift
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. present — the time now
  17. field — for sport
  18. press — a publisher
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bound — tied together
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. bound — obliged

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