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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: bound · patient · spring · snap · object · temple · bat · stick

  1. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. bat — the animal
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. snap — to click
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. bound — obliged
  10. spring — a coil
  11. bound — certain
  12. object — an aim
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. bound — tied together
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. spring — the season
  18. object — to protest
  19. object — a thing
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. spring — of water
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. temple — a place of worship

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