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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: key · jam · chair · root · cold · bore · chest · patient

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. root — the cause
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. chair — a leader
  7. root — of a word
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. bore — to tire
  10. cold — an illness
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. chest — of your body
  16. key — the most important part
  17. key — for a lock
  18. key — in music
  19. chest — a box
  20. root — of a plant
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. chest — of your body
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. bore — to drill

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