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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: pitcher · fall · game · bark · field · patient · cue · press

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. cue — a hint
  4. field — for sport
  5. press — to push
  6. press — newspapers
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. bark — to shout
  11. press — a publisher
  12. fall — to drop
  13. field — farmland
  14. cue — for pool
  15. game — wild animals
  16. field — a subject
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. cue — a signal
  20. game — a match
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. fall — the season
  23. fall — to drop
  24. patient — a sick person

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