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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: pound · court · bear · press · fall · patient

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. fall — to drop
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. press — a publisher
  5. court — of a king
  6. press — newspapers
  7. court — for sport
  8. fall — to drop
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bear — the animal
  11. court — of law
  12. pound — a weight
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. fall — the season
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. press — to push

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