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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: chair · cap · branch · key · bass · snap · patient · lean

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. chair — a leader
  4. cap — a hat
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. snap — to click
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. key — in music
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. bass — low music
  15. bass — the fish
  16. branch — a division
  17. cap — a lid
  18. key — the most important part
  19. lean — to bend
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. lean — thin
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. cap — of ice
  24. key — for a lock

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