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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: snap · chair · patient · mouse · face · stem · roll · stick

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  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. chair — to sit on
  2. chair — a leader
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. face — part of the head
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. roll — a list
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. face — to confront
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. roll — a cake
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. face — to point toward
  19. stem — to come from
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. roll — on a roll
  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