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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: press · patient · pit · row · cold · mate

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. press — to push
  3. pit — in a race
  4. row — to paddle
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. mate — to breed
  7. press — newspapers
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. cold — not warm
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. mate — a friend
  12. press — a publisher
  13. cold — an illness
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. row — a line
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. mate — a partner

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