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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: pit · squash · stand · cell · last · rest · court · drill

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. squash — to crush
  3. court — of law
  4. last — to go on
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. court — of a king
  8. last — finally
  9. pit — a hole
  10. rest — what's left
  11. last — final
  12. drill — army training
  13. cell — a phone
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. drill — a practice
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. court — for sport
  18. rest — what's left
  19. cell — in biology
  20. drill — the tool
  21. pit — in a race
  22. rest — a break
  23. stand — to bear
  24. cell — in a prison

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