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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 116 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: kid · snap · bear · patient · spell · stick · branch · sharp

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. kid — child
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. branch — a division
  7. bear — the animal
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. sharp — clever
  10. kid — to tease
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. spell — letters
  13. spell — magic
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. spell — a short time
  18. bear — the animal
  19. snap — to click
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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