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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: kid · leaves · spring · bay · patient · tube · squash · mine

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. mine — for digging
  3. kid — to tease
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. spring — the season
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. squash — to crush
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. tube — a container
  12. spring — of water
  13. tube — the underground
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. spring — a coil
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. kid — child
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. mine — an explosive

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