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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: season · snap · last · race · straw · patient · mate · pound

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. last — final
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. mate — to breed
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. race — a contest
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. race — the arms race
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. race — humankind
  14. last — to go on
  15. season — of the year
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. pound — a weight
  18. last — finally
  19. mate — a friend
  20. season — in sport
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. mate — a partner

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