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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: patient · snap · pitcher · cue · mouse · firm · land · chest

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. land — ground
  3. cue — a signal
  4. cue — a hint
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. land — a country
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. firm — decided
  9. chest — of your body
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. chest — a box
  17. chest — of your body
  18. firm — steady
  19. firm — a company
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. land — to come down
  22. cue — for pool
  23. snap — to click
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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