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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: cold · hide · patient · leaves · swing · mine · charge · kid

  1. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. charge — electricity
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. mine — for digging
  5. kid — child
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. charge — in control
  11. cold — an illness
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. kid — to tease
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. swing — to play on
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. cold — not warm
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. swing — music
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. swing — in golf

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