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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: patient · key · bank · chair · snap · mate · cap · march

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. bank — for money
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. cap — a lid
  6. cap — a hat
  7. key — for a lock
  8. mate — a friend
  9. march — the month
  10. key — in music
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. snap — to click
  14. mate — to breed
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. cap — of ice
  17. bank — for money
  18. mate — a partner
  19. march — music
  20. bank — of a river
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. key — the most important part
  23. chair — a leader
  24. march — the month

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