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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: tube · tear · kid · jam · coach · patient · pit · cold

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. tube — the underground
  9. tear — to rip
  10. tear — from crying
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. tear — from crying
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. pit — in a race
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cold — not warm
  19. pit — a hole
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. kid — child
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. kid — to tease
  24. patient — a sick person

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