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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 · mark · band · deal · pitch · mine · content · patient

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. content — happy
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. pitch — completely
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. snap — to click
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. content — the amount
  11. deal — to handle
  12. band — a ring
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. mark — a grade
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. mark — a trace
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. band — a music group
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. mine — for digging

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