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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: bat · firm · race · patient · club · wound · face · snap

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. face — part of the head
  3. club — a group
  4. race — the arms race
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. firm — steady
  7. snap — to click
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bat — the animal
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. firm — a company
  13. race — humankind
  14. race — a contest
  15. club — for golf
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. face — to confront
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. club — for dancing
  21. face — to point toward
  22. wound — an injury
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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