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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 116 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: fall · band · snap · content · fan · patient · club · saw

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. snap — to click
  4. band — a ring
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. fall — the season
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. fall — to drop
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. content — happy
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. saw — the tool
  15. saw — the tool
  16. club — for golf
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. fall — to drop
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. club — a group
  21. club — for dancing
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. band — a music group
  24. patient — a sick person

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