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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: craft · pitcher · saw · patient · bat · rush · pit · chair

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. pit — a hole
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. chair — a leader
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. pit — in a race
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. bat — the animal
  12. saw — the tool
  13. craft — a skill
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. saw — the tool
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. craft — boats

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