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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
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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: squash · march · snap · race · spell · face · bound · patient

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  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 snap out of it
  2. spell — magic
  3. bound — obliged
  4. bound — certain
  5. squash — the sport
  6. snap — to click
  7. bound — tied together
  8. spell — a short time
  9. march — music
  10. race — the arms race
  11. march — the month
  12. squash — to crush
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. face — part of the head
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. face — to point toward
  17. race — a contest
  18. spell — letters
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. march — the month
  22. race — humankind
  23. face — to confront
  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