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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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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: straw · press · row · stem · key · cold · pitch · patient

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. press — to push
  6. row — to paddle
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. press — newspapers
  10. key — for a lock
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. cold — an illness
  16. key — in music
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. stem — to come from
  20. key — the most important part
  21. press — a publisher
  22. pitch — completely
  23. row — a line
  24. cold — not warm

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