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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 · object · date · craft · cold · patient · chip · net

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. craft — boats
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. chip — for betting
  5. object — a thing
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. chip — to eat
  8. net — in sport
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. net — after costs
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. object — an aim
  14. craft — a skill
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. cold — not warm
  19. object — to protest
  20. net — for catching
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. date — the fruit

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