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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: chair · snap · patient · foot · cell · band · stick · wake

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. foot — a measure
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. cell — in biology
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. chair — a leader
  16. wake — a trail
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. band — a ring
  22. cell — a phone
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. band — a music group

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