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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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Word bank
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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 · hand · file · sharp · game · last · snap · band

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. game — a match
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. file — a document
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. game — wild animals
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. band — a ring
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. band — a music group
  15. file — a tool
  16. last — to go on
  17. hand — help
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. last — finally
  20. snap — to click
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. last — final
  23. sharp — clever
  24. hand — in cards

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