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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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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: bass · cap · kick · chip · staff · bear · patient · cold

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. cap — a hat
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. cold — not warm
  8. staff — employees
  9. cold — an illness
  10. bear — the animal
  11. cap — a lid
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. chip — for betting
  14. cap — of ice
  15. kick — in football
  16. staff — employees
  17. bass — low music
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. chip — to eat
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. bass — the fish
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. bear — the animal
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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