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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: coach · rest · mouse · mine · wind · bat · lean · patient

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. lean — thin
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. wind — moving air
  10. bat — the animal
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. mine — for digging
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. wind — moving air
  19. lean — to bend
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rest — what's left
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. mouse — the animal

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