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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: patient · kid · current · bat · leaves · cap · coach · land

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. kid — to tease
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. land — to come down
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. cap — a hat
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. cap — a lid
  15. current — of water
  16. kid — child
  17. land — ground
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. cap — of ice
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. land — a country
  23. current — happening now
  24. bat — for baseball

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