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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: patient · press · calf · tear · rash · cold

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. tear — from crying
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. press — to push
  6. rash — a series
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. tear — to rip
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. press — a publisher
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. rash — hasty
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. tear — from crying
  16. cold — not warm
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. press — newspapers

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