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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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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 · drill · tear · object · cap

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. tear — from crying
  3. drill — the tool
  4. drill — a practice
  5. cap — a hat
  6. drill — army training
  7. press — to push
  8. cap — of ice
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. press — a publisher
  11. cap — a lid
  12. object — a thing
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. press — newspapers
  15. object — an aim
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — to rip

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