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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: land · pitcher · court · bass · press · sharp · kid · patient

  1. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. press — to push
  3. court — of law
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. press — newspapers
  7. kid — to tease
  8. bass — the fish
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. court — of a king
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. land — ground
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. sharp — clever
  17. land — to come down
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. kid — child
  20. press — a publisher
  21. land — a country
  22. bass — low music
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. court — 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