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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: bowl · nail · row · press · patient · toast · cold · racket

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. cold — not warm
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. press — to push
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. cold — an illness
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. press — a publisher
  19. toast — bread
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. press — newspapers
  23. row — to paddle
  24. row — a line

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