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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: band · last · drill · snap · march · firm · cap · stand

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. snap — to click
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. firm — decided
  5. drill — a practice
  6. march — the month
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. last — to go on
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. firm — a company
  11. last — final
  12. firm — steady
  13. cap — a hat
  14. march — music
  15. cap — a lid
  16. march — the month
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. drill — the tool
  19. drill — army training
  20. cap — of ice
  21. band — a music group
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. band — a ring
  24. stand — to bear

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