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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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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: row · content · mine · fine · patient · mate · arm · snap

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. content — the amount
  3. row — a line
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. mate — to breed
  6. fine — high quality
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. mate — a friend
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. snap — to click
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. content — happy
  18. fine — all right
  19. row — to paddle
  20. mine — for digging
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. arm — a part of something

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