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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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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: calf · hand · bank · snap · pitcher · patient · cold · chair

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. bank — for money
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. bank — of a river
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. cold — an illness
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. cold — not warm
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. bank — for money
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. hand — help
  18. snap — to click
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. chair — a leader
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. patient — a sick person

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