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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: kid · cold · jam · suit · staff · bat · object · tube

  1. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. kid — child
  3. cold — an illness
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. bat — the animal
  7. tube — the underground
  8. object — a thing
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. tube — a container
  11. object — to protest
  12. cold — not warm
  13. object — an aim
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. kid — to tease
  16. staff — employees
  17. staff — a stick
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. suit — to fit
  20. suit — clothes
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. staff — employees
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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