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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: roll · cold · sharp · key · band · nail · snap · rush

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. key — the most important part
  3. snap — to click
  4. sharp — clever
  5. rush — hurry
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. key — in music
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. key — for a lock
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. roll — a list
  16. cold — not warm
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. band — a music group
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. roll — a cake
  21. cold — an illness
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. band — a ring

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