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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: file · band · face · spell · bound · kick · snap · bay

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. bound — tied together
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. spell — magic
  7. bound — certain
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. face — to point toward
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. spell — letters
  13. face — to confront
  14. file — a line of people
  15. kick — in football
  16. bound — obliged
  17. face — part of the head
  18. spell — a short time
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. snap — to click
  21. file — a document
  22. file — a tool
  23. band — a ring
  24. bay — a horse colour

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