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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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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: snap · hand · scale · bay · season · temple · patient · cell

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. snap — to click
  3. hand — in cards
  4. season — of the year
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. cell — a phone
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. hand — help
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. scale — in music
  21. cell — in biology
  22. season — in sport
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. temple — side of the head

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