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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: land · press · chest · patient · content · staff · snap · wound

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. land — ground
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. land — to come down
  5. land — a country
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. chest — of your body
  10. staff — employees
  11. press — to push
  12. staff — employees
  13. chest — a box
  14. wound — an injury
  15. content — the amount
  16. chest — of your body
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. press — a publisher
  19. snap — to click
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. content — happy
  22. press — newspapers
  23. staff — a stick
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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