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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: key · cell · kid · wind · bore · patient

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. key — for a lock
  5. cell — a phone
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. key — the most important part
  8. wind — moving air
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. bore — to drill
  11. key — in music
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. kid — to tease
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. cell — in biology
  16. bore — to tire
  17. kid — child
  18. wind — to turn a key

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