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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: wind · game · tube · swing · suit · leaves · bat · patient

  1. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. suit — to fit
  3. wind — moving air
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. game — wild animals
  6. suit — in cards
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. wind — moving air
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. game — a match
  16. tube — the underground
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. tube — a container
  19. swing — in golf
  20. swing — to play on
  21. swing — music
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. bat — 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