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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: snap · row · arm · pass · patient · fan · clip · leaves

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  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 snap out of it
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. clip — to cut
  6. clip — for paper
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. row — a line
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. row — to paddle
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. snap — to click
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. pass — a permit
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. clip — a video
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. patient — a sick person
  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