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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 120 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: bass · firm · pitcher · patient · snap · arm · cold · key

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. bass — low music
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. key — for a lock
  5. snap — to click
  6. firm — steady
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. key — the most important part
  13. key — in music
  14. cold — an illness
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. bass — the fish
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. cold — not warm
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. firm — decided
  23. firm — a company
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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