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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: snap · chip · band · bark · craft · chest · toast · mate

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. band — a ring
  3. band — a music group
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. mate — a friend
  6. craft — a skill
  7. toast — bread
  8. chip — for betting
  9. chest — of your body
  10. mate — a partner
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. chest — of your body
  14. bark — to shout
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. snap — to click
  17. craft — boats
  18. chip — to eat
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. mate — to breed
  23. chest — a box
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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