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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: band · rush · field · patient · press · straw · hide · ground

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. field — farmland
  6. ground — a position
  7. band — a music group
  8. press — a publisher
  9. rush — hurry
  10. press — newspapers
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. field — a subject
  15. ground — the earth
  16. field — for sport
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. press — to push
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. band — a ring
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. hide — to keep secret

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