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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: coach · clip · suit · patient · present · cold · spring · craft

  1. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. present — a gift
  3. clip — a video
  4. present — there
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. spring — of water
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. present — the time now
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. spring — the season
  12. craft — boats
  13. clip — for paper
  14. cold — an illness
  15. craft — a skill
  16. spring — a coil
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. clip — to cut
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. suit — clothes
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. suit — to fit
  24. cold — not warm

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