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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 120 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: wind · band · fine · present · coach · pit · row · snap

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. snap — to click
  3. present — the time now
  4. fine — all right
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. row — a line
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. present — a gift
  11. fine — high quality
  12. pit — in a race
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. wind — moving air
  15. band — a ring
  16. present — there
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. pit — a hole
  19. row — to paddle
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. wind — moving air
  24. coach — a trainer

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