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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: rule · snap · band · wind · degree · squash · pitcher · patient

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. rule — government
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. squash — to crush
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. wind — moving air
  11. band — a ring
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. degree — from a university
  14. band — a music group
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wind — moving air
  17. squash — the sport
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. rule — a law
  20. degree — temperature
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. degree — an amount
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. squash — the vegetable

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