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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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468
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: wind · patient · cue · bulb · ball · hand · tube · kid

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. bulb — for light
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. tube — the underground
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. wind — moving air
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. hand — in cards
  11. wind — moving air
  12. cue — for pool
  13. tube — a container
  14. cue — a hint
  15. ball — a dance
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. hand — help
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. kid — to tease
  20. bulb — for light
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. cue — a signal
  23. kid — child
  24. hand — part of the body

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