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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 · bank · patient · ground · mate · spring · fan · cold

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. mate — a partner
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. cold — not warm
  6. bank — for money
  7. cold — an illness
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. mate — a friend
  11. bank — for money
  12. bank — of a river
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. ground — crushed
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. ground — a position
  20. spring — of water
  21. mate — to breed
  22. ground — the earth
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. spring — the season

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