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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: bat · key · kid · stick · cold · bore · temple · patient

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. kid — child
  4. bore — to drill
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. bore — to tire
  16. bat — the animal
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. kid — to tease
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. cold — not warm
  21. key — the most important part
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. key — for a lock
  24. key — in music

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