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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 120 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: coach · mug · swing · last · perch · patient · press · mine

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. mug — to rob
  3. press — a publisher
  4. perch — the fish
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. swing — music
  10. swing — to play on
  11. last — final
  12. swing — in golf
  13. last — finally
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. mine — for digging
  17. press — newspapers
  18. mug — a face
  19. mug — a cup
  20. press — to push
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. last — to go on
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. mine — an explosive

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