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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: scale · dip · pit · patient · cold · cell · temple · cue

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. cue — a signal
  4. dip — to sink
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. cue — a hint
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. cell — a phone
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. cue — for pool
  13. pit — a hole
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. scale — size or range
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. pit — in a race
  19. cold — not warm
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. cell — in biology
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. scale — in 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