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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: march · snap · band · plane · wake · nail · content · chair

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. snap — to click
  5. content — happy
  6. plane — a tool
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. march — the month
  9. march — music
  10. march — the month
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. band — a music group
  15. chair — a leader
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. band — a ring
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. wake — a trail
  23. content — the amount
  24. nail — for a hammer

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