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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: patient · rest · last · pound · arm · content · press · perch

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. last — to go on
  5. rest — a break
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. last — final
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. pound — a weight
  11. perch — the fish
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. content — happy
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. press — a publisher
  16. rest — what's left
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. rest — what's left
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. press — newspapers
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. last — finally
  24. press — to push

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