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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: season · stick · last · face · press · spell · ground · patient

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. ground — crushed
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. press — to push
  5. season — of the year
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. last — final
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. face — to confront
  10. spell — a short time
  11. face — part of the head
  12. spell — letters
  13. season — in sport
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. spell — magic
  17. face — to point toward
  18. press — a publisher
  19. last — finally
  20. ground — a position
  21. ground — the earth
  22. press — newspapers
  23. last — to go on
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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