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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: leaves · snap · bat · foot · stick · wind · mine · patient

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. wind — moving air
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. snap — to click
  11. mine — for digging
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bat — the animal
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. bat — for baseball

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