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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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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: wake · straw · drill · pitch · stick · chair · press · patient

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. drill — a practice
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. press — a publisher
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. chair — a leader
  15. drill — the tool
  16. press — to push
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. wake — a trail
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. pitch — completely
  22. drill — army training
  23. press — newspapers
  24. patient — a sick person

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