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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: chair · pit · patient · saw · season · degree · last · arm

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. saw — the tool
  6. pit — in a race
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. degree — an amount
  11. degree — from a university
  12. season — in sport
  13. chair — a leader
  14. saw — the tool
  15. last — to go on
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. last — finally
  19. pit — a hole
  20. last — final
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. degree — temperature
  24. season — of the year

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