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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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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 · patient · tube · cold · snap · pop · pit · kid

  1. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. cap — a hat
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. cap — of ice
  5. cold — an illness
  6. snap — to click
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. tube — a container
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. pit — in a race
  11. pop — music
  12. cap — a lid
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. kid — child
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. pit — a hole
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. pop — to visit
  20. kid — to tease
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. pop — soda
  23. tube — the underground
  24. cold — not warm

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