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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: field · bank · staff · press · patient · cold · bat · rush

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. staff — a stick
  3. press — to push
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. field — a subject
  7. bank — for money
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. bank — for money
  10. bank — of a river
  11. cold — not warm
  12. staff — employees
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. bat — the animal
  15. cold — an illness
  16. press — newspapers
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. press — a publisher
  19. field — for sport
  20. staff — employees
  21. field — farmland
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. rush — hurry

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