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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 120 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: saw · net · snap · stock · last · chest · patient · rush

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. last — final
  3. rush — hurry
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. stock — shares
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. saw — the tool
  8. last — to go on
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. stock — goods
  11. snap — to click
  12. net — in sport
  13. last — finally
  14. chest — of your body
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. net — after costs
  19. saw — the tool
  20. chest — of your body
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. net — for catching
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. chest — a box

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