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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: key · press · chair · bore · patient · jam · cold · calf

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

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

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