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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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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: chest · tube · cold · patient · bay · mate · last · mug

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. chest — a box
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. mate — a partner
  5. mug — a cup
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. mate — a friend
  8. cold — not warm
  9. chest — of your body
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. last — to go on
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. chest — of your body
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. mate — to breed
  17. tube — a container
  18. tube — the underground
  19. mug — to rob
  20. last — final
  21. cold — an illness
  22. mug — a face
  23. last — finally
  24. bay — a horse colour

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