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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: spell · coach · game · land · tube · plane · patient · tear

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. land — a country
  3. tube — the underground
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. tear — to rip
  7. game — wild animals
  8. spell — magic
  9. tear — from crying
  10. spell — letters
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. land — to come down
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. land — ground
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. tear — from crying
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. plane — a tool
  20. game — a match
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. spell — a short time

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