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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: pop · field · patient · press · date · row · bank · kid

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. pop — music
  3. date — the fruit
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. kid — to tease
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. press — newspapers
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. pop — soda
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. press — a publisher
  12. field — farmland
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. bank — for money
  15. field — for sport
  16. row — a line
  17. bank — for money
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. press — to push
  21. field — a subject
  22. bank — of a river
  23. pop — to visit
  24. row — to paddle

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