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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 120 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: bat · patient · pit · shower · cold · key · rest · stand

  1. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. pit — a hole
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. rest — a break
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. rest — what's left
  8. stand — to bear
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. rest — what's left
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. bat — the animal
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. cold — not warm
  17. shower — rain
  18. cold — an illness
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. pit — in a race
  22. shower — to wash
  23. key — for a lock
  24. key — the most important part

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