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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: perch · press · ground · staff · patient · sharp · last · bark

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. press — to push
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. ground — a position
  5. last — finally
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. last — final
  8. press — newspapers
  9. ground — crushed
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. last — to go on
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. staff — employees
  14. staff — employees
  15. press — a publisher
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. perch — the fish
  18. bark — to shout
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. staff — a stick
  22. sharp — clever
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. ground — the earth

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