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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: snap · last · fine · bank · cold · drill · face · hide

  1. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. drill — the tool
  5. bank — of a river
  6. bank — for money
  7. fine — all right
  8. drill — army training
  9. last — final
  10. cold — not warm
  11. snap — to click
  12. last — finally
  13. face — to confront
  14. last — to go on
  15. fine — high quality
  16. drill — a practice
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. bank — for money
  19. face — to point toward
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. face — part of the head
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. cold — an illness

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