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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: bay · patient · cold · deal · tube · bass · roll · drill

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. tube — a container
  3. drill — the tool
  4. roll — a list
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. tube — the underground
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. roll — a cake
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. cold — an illness
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. bass — the fish
  16. drill — a practice
  17. deal — to handle
  18. drill — army training
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. bass — low music

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