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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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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: scale · rule · patient · snap · race · fall

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. fall — the season
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. race — humankind
  6. race — the arms race
  7. scale — size or range
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. fall — to drop
  11. scale — in music
  12. rule — government
  13. race — a contest
  14. fall — to drop
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. rule — a law

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