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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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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: patient · ruler · wake · chair · foot · net · chest · snap

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. chair — a leader
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. net — after costs
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. net — in sport
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. chest — of your body
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. net — for catching
  15. chest — a box
  16. wake — a trail
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. foot — a measure
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. chest — of your body

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