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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: field · lie · press · pitcher · patient · clip · tear · fork

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — to rip
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. press — a publisher
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. lie — to recline
  8. field — a subject
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. field — for sport
  13. clip — a video
  14. press — to push
  15. fork — in a road
  16. press — newspapers
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. clip — for paper
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. field — farmland
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. tear — from crying
  24. fork — a garden tool

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