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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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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: cold · stock · perch · pitcher · straw · bay · patient · press

  1. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. cold — not warm
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. cold — an illness
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. press — a publisher
  12. press — newspapers
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. press — to push
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. stock — shares
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. stock — goods
  23. perch — the fish
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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