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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: bore · press · file · pitcher · field · chair · sharp · patient

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. bore — to tire
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. press — newspapers
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. press — a publisher
  11. chair — a leader
  12. bore — to drill
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. field — a subject
  16. field — farmland
  17. sharp — clever
  18. file — a document
  19. field — for sport
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. press — to push
  22. file — a line of people
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. file — a tool

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