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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
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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 · lie · rock · spring · land · patient · mine · game

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. land — ground
  4. game — a match
  5. spring — of water
  6. land — to come down
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. spring — the season
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. game — wild animals
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. land — a country
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. spring — a coil
  20. rock — a stone
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. mine — for digging
  23. lie — to recline
  24. lie — an untruth

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