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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: content · season · game · press · date · patient · toast · sharp

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. content — the amount
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. sharp — clever
  8. press — newspapers
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. game — a match
  16. press — to push
  17. season — of the year
  18. press — a publisher
  19. date — the fruit
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. toast — bread
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. season — in sport
  24. game — wild animals

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