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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 116 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: bowl · last · key · object · hand · pitcher · patient · cold

  1. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. last — finally
  5. last — final
  6. key — for a lock
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. cold — not warm
  9. object — an aim
  10. object — to protest
  11. last — to go on
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. key — the most important part
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. cold — an illness
  17. hand — in cards
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. key — in music
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. hand — help

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