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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: spring · fall · press · land · staff · patient · arm · chair

  1. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. chair — a leader
  3. press — newspapers
  4. land — a country
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. staff — employees
  7. fall — the season
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. spring — of water
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. press — a publisher
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. spring — the season
  16. fall — to drop
  17. land — to come down
  18. land — ground
  19. staff — a stick
  20. press — to push
  21. fall — to drop
  22. spring — a coil
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. staff — employees

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