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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: patient · ball · snap · last · deal · clip · chair · mate

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. mate — to breed
  3. ball — a dance
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. snap — to click
  8. clip — to cut
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. clip — a video
  11. last — to go on
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. deal — to handle
  14. mate — a friend
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. last — final
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. last — finally
  19. clip — for paper
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. mate — a partner
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. ball — a great time
  24. ball — a round shape

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