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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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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: firm · snap · wind · pass · last · mine · prune · band

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. last — finally
  3. firm — steady
  4. snap — to click
  5. last — final
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. wind — moving air
  9. band — a ring
  10. prune — to trim
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. band — a music group
  15. pass — a permit
  16. wind — moving air
  17. firm — decided
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. last — to go on
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. firm — a company
  22. prune — to trim
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. band — a rubber band

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