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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: arm · wake · march · mine · craft · patient · last · snap

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. craft — boats
  3. last — finally
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. march — the month
  6. mine — for digging
  7. craft — a skill
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. last — final
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. march — music
  16. snap — to click
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. last — to go on
  19. wake — a trail
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. march — the month
  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