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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: bass · content · shower · patient · hand · field · press · pitch

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. content — happy
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. bass — low music
  5. hand — in cards
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. press — to push
  10. shower — rain
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. hand — help
  14. bass — the fish
  15. press — newspapers
  16. press — a publisher
  17. content — the amount
  18. field — a subject
  19. pitch — completely
  20. shower — to wash
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. field — farmland
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. field — for sport

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