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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: mate · wound · rush · press · march · hand · prune · patient

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. prune — to trim
  4. press — to push
  5. hand — in cards
  6. hand — help
  7. wound — an injury
  8. prune — to trim
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. march — music
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. press — newspapers
  16. mate — a friend
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. wound — an injury
  19. march — the month
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. march — the month
  22. rush — hurry
  23. mate — to breed
  24. mate — a partner

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