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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: ball · patient · pass · tear · arm · pitcher · fall · snap

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. pass — a permit
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. ball — a dance
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. tear — to rip
  13. ball — a great time
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. tear — from crying
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. tear — from crying
  20. fall — the season
  21. fall — to drop
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. fall — to drop
  24. arm — part of the body

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