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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: club · capital · fine · snap · saw · fan · mate · row

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. mate — a partner
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. mate — a friend
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. club — for dancing
  7. row — a line
  8. fine — high quality
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. capital — money
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. row — to paddle
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. club — for golf
  15. saw — the tool
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. club — a group
  20. saw — the tool
  21. capital — a city
  22. mate — to breed
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. fine — all right

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