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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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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 · content · present · fall · cold · stick · lash · press

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. present — the time now
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. present — there
  8. fall — the season
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fall — to drop
  11. press — newspapers
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. press — a publisher
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. press — to push
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. content — the amount
  20. cold — an illness
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. present — a gift
  24. content — happy

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