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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: roll · content · straw · press · net · cold · lash · patient

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  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. lash — to lash out
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. net — after costs
  7. roll — a list
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. content — the amount
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. net — in sport
  14. press — to push
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. cold — not warm
  17. press — a publisher
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. press — newspapers
  21. net — for catching
  22. cold — an illness
  23. roll — a cake
  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