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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: pitcher · jam · cap · cold · hand · staff · bore · roll

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. staff — employees
  3. cold — not warm
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. hand — help
  6. hand — in cards
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. roll — a cake
  9. cap — of ice
  10. cap — a hat
  11. staff — employees
  12. bore — to drill
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. cap — a lid
  17. roll — a list
  18. cold — an illness
  19. bore — to tire
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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