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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 116 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: patient · staff · content · press · spell · lie · stem · court

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. court — of law
  3. staff — employees
  4. content — happy
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. court — of a king
  7. press — newspapers
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. press — to push
  12. content — the amount
  13. lie — to recline
  14. court — for sport
  15. stem — to come from
  16. spell — letters
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. press — a publisher
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. spell — a short time
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. staff — employees
  24. spell — magic

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