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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: coach · mate · snap · land · firm · hand · rule · band

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. mate — a friend
  4. band — a ring
  5. land — to come down
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. firm — a company
  8. rule — government
  9. rule — a law
  10. mate — to breed
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. hand — in cards
  13. snap — to click
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. hand — help
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. firm — steady
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. land — ground
  21. mate — a partner
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. land — a country
  24. band — a music group

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