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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: press · ground · can · cap · field · bass · face · patient

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. can — a tin
  3. face — part of the head
  4. press — to push
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. press — a publisher
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. ground — a position
  9. field — for sport
  10. ground — the earth
  11. can — a tin
  12. press — newspapers
  13. field — a subject
  14. cap — of ice
  15. bass — the fish
  16. face — to confront
  17. field — farmland
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. cap — a hat
  21. can — to be able to
  22. ground — crushed
  23. cap — a lid
  24. bass — low music

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