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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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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: game · jam · wind · pitcher · spring · patient · stick · snap

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. spring — a coil
  3. snap — to click
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. spring — of water
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. wind — moving air
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. game — a match
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. spring — the season
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. wind — moving air
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. patient — a sick person

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