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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 116 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: ruler · face · charge · snap · game · wind · patient · pitcher

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. charge — electricity
  3. charge — a price
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. game — wild animals
  7. game — a match
  8. wind — moving air
  9. snap — to click
  10. face — to point toward
  11. face — part of the head
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. wind — moving air
  21. charge — in control
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. ruler — a monarch

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