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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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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 · pit · cell · court · hide · stand

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. stand — to bear
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. court — of law
  9. court — for sport
  10. cell — in biology
  11. pit — in a race
  12. cell — a phone
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. pit — a hole
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. 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