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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: patient · chest · roll · firm · march · cap · pit · bass

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  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. pit — a hole
  2. march — the month
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. march — the month
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. cap — of ice
  8. chest — of your body
  9. firm — a company
  10. cap — a lid
  11. chest — of your body
  12. march — music
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. roll — a cake
  15. cap — a hat
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. roll — a list
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. bass — the fish
  20. firm — steady
  21. firm — decided
  22. bass — low music
  23. chest — a box
  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