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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: pass · snap · cold · wave · land · leaves · sharp · patient

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. land — ground
  3. land — a country
  4. sharp — clever
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. cold — an illness
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. snap — to click
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cold — not warm
  18. land — to come down
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. pass — a permit
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. leaves — lets stay

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