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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 116 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 · drill · press · wind · fan · field · stick · bowl

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. field — farmland
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. wind — moving air
  7. press — to push
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. press — a publisher
  10. wind — moving air
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. press — newspapers
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. field — a subject
  17. drill — army training
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. drill — the tool
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. drill — a practice
  24. field — for sport

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