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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 120 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: wave · net · tube · coach · patient · spring · lean · fan

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. lean — to bend
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. lean — thin
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. tube — a container
  8. spring — of water
  9. net — in sport
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. net — after costs
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. spring — the season
  21. spring — a coil
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. tube — the underground
  24. net — for catching

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