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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: present · band · saw · mine · safe · snap · cold · rush

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. band — a music group
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. present — a gift
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. present — the time now
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. cold — an illness
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. present — there
  12. band — a ring
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. saw — the tool
  17. cold — not warm
  18. saw — the tool
  19. mine — for digging
  20. rush — hurry
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. rush — a thrill

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