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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 116 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: cell · patient · pit · file · rest · suit · kid · spring

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. cell — in biology
  3. pit — a hole
  4. rest — a break
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. spring — the season
  7. spring — of water
  8. suit — to fit
  9. rest — what's left
  10. pit — in a race
  11. spring — a coil
  12. rest — what's left
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. file — a document
  15. suit — in cards
  16. suit — clothes
  17. kid — child
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. file — a tool
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. file — a line of people
  22. kid — to tease
  23. cell — a phone
  24. patient — a sick person

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