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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 120 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: content · cold · staff · temple · branch · kid · mate · patient

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. staff — employees
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. staff — a stick
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. cold — not warm
  9. kid — to tease
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. mate — to breed
  12. content — the amount
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cold — an illness
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. branch — a division
  18. content — happy
  19. staff — employees
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. mate — a partner
  22. kid — child
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. mate — a friend

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