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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: pop · race · chair · squash · snap · hand · fan · patient

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. chair — a leader
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. race — humankind
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. pop — to visit
  8. race — the arms race
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. race — a contest
  12. squash — to crush
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. hand — help
  15. squash — the sport
  16. hand — in cards
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. pop — soda
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. pop — music
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. patient — a sick person

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