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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.

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: patient · band · cold · ball · temple · season · wind · coach

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. band — a ring
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. season — in sport
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. ball — a dance
  14. season — of the year
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. wind — moving air
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. ball — a great time
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. band — a music group
  23. wind — moving air
  24. cold — an illness

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