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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: bat · pop · press · land · pass · patient · field · firm

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. press — to push
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. bat — the animal
  5. field — farmland
  6. firm — decided
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. field — a subject
  9. pass — a permit
  10. press — a publisher
  11. firm — steady
  12. pop — to visit
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. land — to come down
  16. land — ground
  17. pop — music
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. press — newspapers
  20. pop — soda
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. firm — a company
  23. field — for sport
  24. land — a country

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