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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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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: chest · saw · rule · present · mark · last · snap · band

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. saw — the tool
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. rule — a law
  6. present — the time now
  7. chest — of your body
  8. last — finally
  9. band — a music group
  10. mark — a trace
  11. present — there
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. chest — of your body
  14. snap — to click
  15. last — to go on
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. last — final
  18. present — a gift
  19. band — a ring
  20. chest — a box
  21. rule — government
  22. mark — a grade
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. saw — the tool

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