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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.

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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: rest · mouse · patient · press · bat · pound · fine · rash

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. rest — what's left
  6. press — to push
  7. rash — hasty
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bat — the animal
  10. press — a publisher
  11. fine — all right
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. pound — a weight
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. rest — a break
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. fine — high quality
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. press — newspapers
  24. rash — a series

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