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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 116 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: band · mine · snap · last · bound · drill · hand · mouse

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. bound — obliged
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. drill — the tool
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. hand — help
  7. bound — tied together
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. last — finally
  13. drill — a practice
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. band — a music group
  16. bound — certain
  17. last — final
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. last — to go on
  20. mine — for digging
  21. snap — to click
  22. drill — army training
  23. band — a ring
  24. hand — in cards

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