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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: snap · cap · band · mine · bay · fine · straw · prune

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. prune — to trim
  3. fine — high quality
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. mine — for digging
  6. cap — of ice
  7. band — a ring
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. band — a music group
  11. cap — a lid
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. fine — all right
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. cap — a hat
  20. snap — to click
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. prune — to trim

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