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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: cabinet · present · band · snap · last · coach · swing · cap

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. swing — to play on
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. cap — of ice
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. present — a gift
  8. snap — to click
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. band — a music group
  11. swing — music
  12. cap — a lid
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. swing — in golf
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. last — final
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. present — there
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. last — to go on
  21. cap — a hat
  22. present — the time now
  23. band — a ring
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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