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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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: present · land · patient · lean · cold · mine · dip · leaves

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. land — ground
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. land — a country
  5. dip — to sink
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. land — to come down
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. present — there
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. lean — thin
  13. lean — to bend
  14. cold — an illness
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. mine — for digging
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. present — a gift
  23. present — the time now
  24. dip — a sauce

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