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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: saw · spring · stock · bear · patient · press · march · chair

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. bear — the animal
  3. spring — a coil
  4. march — the month
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. chair — a leader
  7. saw — the tool
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. press — newspapers
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. press — to push
  12. bear — the animal
  13. march — the month
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. march — music
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. press — a publisher
  18. stock — goods
  19. spring — the season
  20. saw — the tool
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. stock — shares
  23. spring — of water
  24. patient — a sick person

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