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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: craft · snap · tube · patient · pound · chest · spell · race

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. spell — a short time
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. race — the arms race
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. snap — to click
  7. chest — of your body
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. chest — a box
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. pound — a weight
  12. tube — a container
  13. tube — the underground
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. craft — a skill
  16. spell — letters
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. spell — magic
  19. craft — boats
  20. chest — of your body
  21. race — humankind
  22. race — a contest
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. tube — in a tire

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