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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: pit · staff · clip · temple · stand · cold · kid · patient

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. staff — employees
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. clip — a video
  7. kid — child
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. staff — a stick
  10. clip — for paper
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cold — not warm
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. clip — to cut
  15. stand — to bear
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. staff — employees
  20. cold — an illness
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. kid — to tease
  23. pit — a hole
  24. pit — in a race

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