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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: sharp · roll · pound · band · snap · tube · game · saw

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. snap — to click
  3. sharp — clever
  4. game — a match
  5. saw — the tool
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. roll — a list
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. game — wild animals
  14. band — a ring
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. roll — a cake
  17. tube — the underground
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. band — a music group
  21. tube — a container
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. pound — a weight

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