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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: cap · pitcher · date · field · patient · press · spring · hand

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. cap — a lid
  4. date — the fruit
  5. press — a publisher
  6. cap — a hat
  7. spring — a coil
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. hand — help
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. field — farmland
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. spring — of water
  15. press — to push
  16. field — a subject
  17. hand — in cards
  18. press — newspapers
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. spring — the season
  24. field — for sport

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