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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 · clip · fork · staff · cold · patient · bass · wave

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. cold — an illness
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. fork — in a road
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. cold — not warm
  12. bass — the fish
  13. clip — for paper
  14. bass — low music
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. staff — a stick
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. staff — employees
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. clip — a video
  23. clip — to cut
  24. staff — employees

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