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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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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: ground · land · race · snap · cell · patient · mate · pitch

  1. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. mate — a friend
  3. ground — the earth
  4. mate — a partner
  5. land — ground
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. race — humankind
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. pitch — completely
  11. land — a country
  12. cell — a phone
  13. race — a contest
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. ground — crushed
  16. race — the arms race
  17. land — to come down
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. snap — to click
  20. mate — to breed
  21. cell — in biology
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. ground — a position
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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