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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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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: pop · charge · firm · snap · band · cap · land · spell

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. spell — letters
  3. firm — a company
  4. charge — a price
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. spell — magic
  7. firm — steady
  8. pop — soda
  9. land — a country
  10. land — ground
  11. band — a music group
  12. pop — music
  13. charge — in control
  14. charge — electricity
  15. spell — a short time
  16. cap — of ice
  17. firm — decided
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. cap — a lid
  20. cap — a hat
  21. band — a ring
  22. land — to come down
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. snap — to click

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