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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: cap · spring · straw · stand · mine · last · content · pit

  1. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. spring — of water
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. last — final
  8. last — finally
  9. pit — in a race
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. spring — the season
  12. stand — to bear
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. cap — of ice
  16. last — to go on
  17. cap — a lid
  18. cap — a hat
  19. content — the amount
  20. pit — a hole
  21. content — happy
  22. spring — a coil
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. mine — for digging

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