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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 · patient · snap · leaves · wound · present · game · kid

  1. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. snap — to click
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. game — wild animals
  5. present — there
  6. kid — child
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. game — a match
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. wound — an injury
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. present — a gift
  15. wound — an injury
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. kid — to tease
  24. present — the time now

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