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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: foot · wind · stand · mark · jam · pass · last · season

  1. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. season — in sport
  4. mark — a trace
  5. wind — moving air
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. last — final
  10. pass — a permit
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. stand — to bear
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. last — finally
  19. season — of the year
  20. last — to go on
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. mark — a grade
  23. foot — a measure
  24. wind — moving air

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