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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: stem · cold · season · calf · ground · patient · press · land

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. press — a publisher
  3. land — to come down
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. ground — the earth
  7. season — of the year
  8. press — to push
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. press — newspapers
  11. land — a country
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. ground — crushed
  16. ground — a position
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. land — ground
  19. cold — an illness
  20. stem — to come from
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. cold — not warm

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