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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: press · patient · content · wound · cold · present · staff · court

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. content — happy
  5. press — a publisher
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. staff — a stick
  8. present — a gift
  9. staff — employees
  10. court — of a king
  11. press — to push
  12. wound — an injury
  13. staff — employees
  14. wound — an injury
  15. present — there
  16. cold — an illness
  17. content — the amount
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. court — for sport
  20. present — the time now
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. court — of law
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. press — newspapers

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