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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: last · chest · leaves · snap · kid · scale · hand · patient

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. hand — in cards
  3. scale — size or range
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. scale — in music
  6. kid — child
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. chest — of your body
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. chest — a box
  16. kid — to tease
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. last — final
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. hand — help
  21. snap — to click
  22. last — to go on
  23. chest — of your body
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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