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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: patient · drill · lean · firm · key · cold · press · can

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. firm — a company
  3. can — a tin
  4. can — a tin
  5. press — a publisher
  6. cold — not warm
  7. key — the most important part
  8. can — to be able to
  9. drill — the tool
  10. press — to push
  11. lean — to bend
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. lean — thin
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. key — in music
  18. drill — a practice
  19. cold — an illness
  20. firm — steady
  21. firm — decided
  22. key — for a lock
  23. press — newspapers
  24. drill — army training

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