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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: patient · bat · press · mouse · bark · march · bass · land

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — music
  3. bark — to shout
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. march — the month
  8. bass — the fish
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. land — ground
  13. press — a publisher
  14. bass — low music
  15. land — to come down
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. press — newspapers
  22. land — a country
  23. press — to push
  24. patient — a sick person

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