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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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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: face · lean · game · snap · bat · rash · patient · land

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. rash — hasty
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. lean — thin
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. land — ground
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. game — wild animals
  10. lean — to bend
  11. rash — a series
  12. face — to point toward
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. snap — to click
  17. bat — the animal
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. game — a match
  20. face — to confront
  21. land — to come down
  22. face — part of the head
  23. land — a country
  24. lean — to rest against

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