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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: snap · patient · season · hand · dip · cabinet · bound · pitcher

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. season — in sport
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. dip — to sink
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. bound — certain
  8. season — of the year
  9. snap — to click
  10. hand — help
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. bound — obliged
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. bound — tied together
  20. hand — in cards
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. pitcher — a jug
  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