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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: patient · staff · press · cold · bank · calf · present · pop

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. staff — employees
  3. pop — music
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. press — to push
  6. staff — employees
  7. bank — for money
  8. present — a gift
  9. present — the time now
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. pop — soda
  12. pop — to visit
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. cold — not warm
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. bank — of a river
  18. press — a publisher
  19. bank — for money
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. press — newspapers
  22. staff — a stick
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cold — the Cold War

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