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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: cabinet · court · fan · snap · band · last · wound · capital

  1. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  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. cabinet — ministers
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. snap — to click
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. court — of a king
  6. last — final
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. wound — an injury
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. capital — money
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. court — for sport
  13. wound — an injury
  14. last — finally
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. capital — a city
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. last — to go on
  20. court — of law
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. band — a ring
  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