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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 116 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: staff · prune · press · patient · rash · object · last · field

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. field — farmland
  4. field — for sport
  5. press — newspapers
  6. last — final
  7. press — a publisher
  8. last — to go on
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. staff — employees
  11. press — to push
  12. object — to protest
  13. staff — employees
  14. field — a subject
  15. staff — a stick
  16. rash — hasty
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. prune — to trim
  19. prune — to trim
  20. rash — a series
  21. object — a thing
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. object — an aim
  24. rash — on the skin

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