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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: sharp · press · game · content · cell · pitcher · mate · patient

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. press — a publisher
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. mate — a partner
  6. press — to push
  7. content — happy
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. content — the amount
  11. sharp — clever
  12. mate — to breed
  13. press — newspapers
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. mate — a friend
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. game — a match
  21. game — wild animals
  22. cell — in biology
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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