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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: staff · bore · key · kid · roll · ball · cold · trunk

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. key — for a lock
  3. ball — a dance
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. staff — employees
  6. bore — to tire
  7. kid — to tease
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. roll — a cake
  11. ball — a great time
  12. key — in music
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. cold — not warm
  15. bore — to drill
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. kid — child
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. roll — a list
  20. staff — a stick
  21. staff — employees
  22. cold — an illness
  23. key — the most important part
  24. ball — a round shape

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