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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: mark · kid · jam · snap · stand · mine · last · saw

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. saw — the tool
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. mine — for digging
  5. last — finally
  6. mark — a trace
  7. last — to go on
  8. saw — the tool
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. kid — to tease
  11. mark — a grade
  12. snap — to click
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. stand — to bear
  15. kid — child
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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