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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: pit · patient · stand · season · straw · last · cabinet · mine

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. mine — for digging
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. last — finally
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. season — in sport
  8. last — to go on
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. stand — to bear
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. pit — a hole
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. last — final
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. pit — in a race

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