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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: pitcher · cold · mark · key · saw · wind · snap · patient

  1. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. saw — the tool
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. mark — a grade
  9. key — for a lock
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. saw — the tool
  12. key — the most important part
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. cold — an illness
  15. snap — to click
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. mark — a trace
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — moving air

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