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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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Word bank
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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: spell · mark · last · mine · snap · drill · cue · file

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. file — a tool
  3. file — a document
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. last — final
  6. snap — to click
  7. drill — the tool
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. cue — a hint
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. file — a line of people
  12. spell — letters
  13. spell — magic
  14. mark — a grade
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. drill — army training
  17. mark — a trace
  18. mine — for digging
  19. last — finally
  20. drill — a practice
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. cue — for pool
  23. spell — a short time
  24. last — to go on

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