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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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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 · swing · rule · snap · capital · hand · present · face

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. swing — music
  5. face — part of the head
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. capital — a city
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. swing — in golf
  10. present — a gift
  11. swing — to play on
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. rule — a law
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. present — the time now
  17. face — to confront
  18. hand — in cards
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. rule — government
  21. capital — money
  22. face — to point toward
  23. hand — help
  24. snap — to click

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