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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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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: cold · patient · press · pitch · row · field · rest · track

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. field — for sport
  4. row — a line
  5. row — to paddle
  6. press — newspapers
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. pitch — completely
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. rest — what's left
  11. field — farmland
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. rest — a break
  15. field — a subject
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. rest — what's left
  18. press — to push
  19. track — a song
  20. track — to keep track
  21. cold — not warm
  22. track — a path
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. cold — an illness

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