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

Word bank: patient · stand · cold · press · toast · chest

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. press — to push
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. stand — to bear
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — of your body
  10. press — a publisher
  11. press — newspapers
  12. toast — bread
  13. cold — an illness
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. cold — not warm
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. chest — a box

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