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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 · staff · stand · patient · current · mine · cold · game

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. game — wild animals
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. staff — a stick
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. game — a match
  10. current — of water
  11. stand — to bear
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. cold — not warm
  16. staff — employees
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. cold — an illness
  19. staff — employees
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. current — happening now
  23. mine — for digging
  24. mine — belonging to me

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