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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bore · hand · cold · kid · bass · bark · key · mug

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. bark — to shout
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. cold — an illness
  5. hand — in cards
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. key — in music
  8. mug — a face
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bore — to tire
  12. cold — not warm
  13. bore — to drill
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. kid — child
  16. bass — low music
  17. bass — the fish
  18. key — the most important part
  19. kid — to tease
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. mug — to rob
  22. hand — help
  23. mug — a cup
  24. bore — gave birth

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