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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: cold · trunk · mug · racket · kid · craft · chair · patient

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. craft — boats
  3. kid — child
  4. mug — a cup
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. craft — a skill
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. chair — a leader
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. mug — a face
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. cold — not warm
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. kid — to tease
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. mug — to rob
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. cold — an illness
  24. racket — for tennis

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