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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: pitch · press · land · staff · capital · firm · patient · cold

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. capital — a city
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. firm — a company
  7. cold — not warm
  8. capital — money
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. press — a publisher
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. press — to push
  13. staff — employees
  14. press — newspapers
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. pitch — completely
  18. staff — a stick
  19. cold — an illness
  20. staff — employees
  21. firm — decided
  22. land — to come down
  23. firm — steady
  24. land — ground

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