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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: patient · racket · pound · press · date · content · stem · bound

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. bound — tied together
  5. press — a publisher
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. content — the amount
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. stem — to come from
  13. content — happy
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. bound — obliged
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. bound — certain
  22. date — the fruit
  23. press — newspapers
  24. pound — a weight

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