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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: cell · snap · band · face · mate · wake · tube · club

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. mate — a partner
  3. band — a music group
  4. tube — the underground
  5. face — to confront
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. club — a group
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. snap — to click
  12. wake — a trail
  13. face — part of the head
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. face — to point toward
  16. cell — a phone
  17. mate — a friend
  18. band — a ring
  19. cell — in biology
  20. club — for dancing
  21. tube — a container
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. club — for golf

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