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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: current · cold · face · tube · last · snap · band · bay

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. current — of water
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. band — a music group
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. cold — not warm
  10. face — to point toward
  11. last — to go on
  12. tube — a container
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. band — a ring
  15. face — part of the head
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. last — finally
  18. tube — the underground
  19. face — to confront
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. snap — to click
  23. current — electric
  24. last — final

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